


Toon out

by Cindercat13



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Toon Henry (Bendy and the Ink Machine), Angels, Angels vs. Demons, Demons, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 22:37:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16334552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cindercat13/pseuds/Cindercat13
Summary: Henry has finally had enough of doing nothing in this studio, and decides to do something.But will that cost him his humanity and his trust that built with friends from years past?





	1. Pull off the ink

It had been a few days since Henry Stein came back to his old workplace before he was drafted to world war one and two. The reason he was here at all was because of his best friend Joey Drew. Joey sent him a letter saying he wanted to show Henry something. After all these years Henry thought there was a chance to see is old friend again after so long.  
  
For the time being he was bunking down with Boris the Wolf, a meant to be cartoon character he made, and animated while he worked here back in his youth days. The man was now at his early fifties which was currently not good for him, as he constantly has blackouts at the worst of times. But that wasn’t the big bad thing that Henry was afraid of.   
  
Ever since he came into contact with a massive pentagram on the floor drawn out of ink, he has been far out of sorts.   
He has been having ink crawl up his arms and legs for the past fair share of days, and it has been moulding into forms of boots and oversized front limbs. His hair before the ink started climbing up his body was a light chestnut colour with a bit of grey here and there, but now it looked like it was jet black.  
But Henry definitely found a little good in this. He started retaining a lot of his youth, looking like he was in his mid-thirties when he started looking in the mirror. And still getting younger. That was something he was not going to complain about.  
  
But as time did go on, the old man found himself starting to not really like the change. It got far worse. The ink now came up to his hips and chest. It had turned itself into white half sleeves with gold elastic silk holding onto his elbows and bronze buttons ran up them sleeves to the elastic.   
The same design went for his legs, starting at his knees then ending at his ankles. Henry could tell they were for design.  
  
But what came for his hands where black tar coloured claws, and he had the same coloured boots that were under the cloth around his legs. All the ink on his body played a new role as his skin. Henry long sense didn't wear a shirt anymore, but at least he got to show off a developing six-pack. The ink started making its way up to his neck. His hair taking shape of spikes as the ink blended into its unnatural style.   
  
  
Henry woke up the same way he did for the past few days. Get up, go to the bathroom, check the mirror. That last one wasn’t his favourite part of his new routine, but he checked anyway. His hair had turned into a form of horns looking similar to Bendy’s but more sharper. And the ink was making its way to his face.   
  
“Henry?” a voice asked from behind the man. Henry jumped a little and turned to see Boris staring at him, “Oh hey bud’” Henry answered “what are you doing?” he asked.   
“I just wanted to see how you looked today. This thing has been speeding up really quickly for a while now…” the gruff-voiced toon wolf said in concern. “Yeah, you’re right…” Henry didn't want to believe it, but if he didn't then he would start to go into denial, and maybe end up as insane as everyone else in this studio.   
  
“I achily had an idea I wanted to talk to you about as well.” the wolf said to lighten up the mood “oh really? What is it?” Henry asked. “I know it might be dangerous but, w-well more than usual. But… what if we…” the toon started to come off, “what?” Henry asked somewhat curious to see were the toon wanted to go with this.  
  
Boris sighed and said, “I read one of Joey’s books and it talks about a way to bring back someone’s memories from this place.” The wolf said looking at Henry. Said man looked at the toon with a shocked look on his face like he just told the man that the ink demon himself just walked in, with a pink tutu on. Henry shook his head and looked at the toon, “So you’re telling me, we could give someone’s memories back out of this whole studio?” he asked in short. “Yeah,” was the wolfs quick answer.   
  
After a bit of showing Henry to Joey’s books, they had an idea on who to help. Henry suggested Norman Polk or the ‘projectionist’ as “Alice” called him. Henry remembers being really good friends with Norman before he was drafted to go to the war, and he would make an easier person to help than someone like Sammy. But then came the plan.   
  
“Okay, we just turn this into holy-ink.” Boris said holding a glass bottle of normal ink, “then cut out his main ink supply, and after a bit, he’ll be despite for ink then we give him it, and then you ask him if he remembers you,” that was the plan? “Sounds easy enough…” Boris commented. “No.” Henry said. “Easier said than done…”  
  
Henry grabbed a paintbrush, dipped it in ink and painted a pentagram on the floor, changing the symbols in it, so it does what they want it to do. And that is to change the normal ink in the bottle to holy-ink. And this is the easy part of the plan.   
  
Once the ink in the bottle changed, the two headed out. Henry grabbing an axe for good measure. They quickly came up to the lift and Henry pushed the number 14 button. The lift shifted a little before they slowly came to their floor. With no sign of Norman, they walked over to the pipes. Henry rest’s his axe against his leg and turns the wheel on the pipe, the ink in the room stops flowing. Now all they had to do was drain it. But that came the really hard part, the lever you had to pull to drain it was at the end of the maze where Norman lurked.   
  
Henry and Boris flinched when they heard a whine come from the entries of the said labyrinth.   
  
Taking a deep breath, Henry walked up to the doors where the ink-stained catacombs were while Boris walked back up the stairs, but not in the lift. Henry felt the ink on his head move and writher as it felt like it was taking a shape. The man long sensed realized that walking through the ink speeded up the change that was happening to him, but he pushed the feeling aside and kept moving. Walking past somehow still stable corpses of the butcher gang, that will always freak Henry out. But finally, he found the switch.   
  
He quickly pulled it and started speed walking out of this seemingly endless maze. But he heard a puff of static behind him, and blinding light flicked on behind him casting his shadow on to the ink-stained wood. The shadow was in the silhouette of a demon with three even horns on each side of its head. Henry was for a second more interested in his shadow than what was behind him. But a punch to the back fixed that. “Ah!” Henry yelled from the punch.  
  
Henry flew in the air for a bit then hit the floor with a thud and rolled through a few puddles of ink. He got up leaving his axe on the floor and started running. On the way out he rammed the side of his head into a wall accidentally and for some reason couldn’t pull his head off the wood. He gave a massive yank and pulled his head out but kept running even with his dazed sight, hearing wood peace’s hit the floor as he made his run to keep going.  
  
He came out from the maze and ran up the stairs to Boris, the wolf flinched when Henry was bolting towards him. He stopped a few meters away from the toon, to politely catch his breath.  
The toon was looking at an ink creature from where he was, a little shocked from what had run at him a few seconds ago.   
  
What was in front of him was a black devil looking creature with black skin covering it from what Boris could see. Till it stood up.   
It had the same sleave peace's that Henry had, black ink ran up its body to its pectoralis major mussels. it had even horns on each side, two small ones at the very top then two massive ones and then odd zig-zag ones and the bottom ones were in a thorn shape, and its face was palely white.  
  
It looked over from where it just ran up the stairs, and then at the start of the ink labyrinth. “I think we're good…” Boris was shocked, this was Henry?!   
…oh god it speed up really quick…  
“H-henry…” Boris’s voice was stuttering and Henry didn't like it. “Yeah, bud?” He just paid attention to what Boris was looking at, and how he was acting “what’s wrong…?” Henry was now concerned, but the answer soon hit him like a ton of bricks. Henry started looking himself down, his whole skin was covered in ink and his head felt heavy. “Boris… h-how long do we have to wait till we need to give Norman the holy-ink?” Henry said checking himself down, is pants dint even look like they were present, and a very nice six pack showed through the ink, that’s all Henry could see from his point. But he knew from Boris’s look on his face that, that was so not it, very far from it in fact. “A-ah… three hours from now I g-guess, but… h-how are y-you holding up?” that question definitely threw Boris off before. How can he be so dam, calm!  
  
“Fine, I guess… well as fine as a can be.” Henry said in a calm tone. If Henry wasn’t worried then why should Boris?   
Boris calmed down and looked back at the ink labyrinth, where the ink minotaur laid in wait for maybe Henry to go back down. “So we can maybe go back to the fort?” Henry asked. “No, if we leave he might go looking for another food source, or as Joey put it ‘ink-source’.” Henry did not like hearing that info come out of the wolf's mouth, to him it tasted worse than someone forcing him to drink ink. It just had that poison to it.   
  
With hardly anything else to do, the two waited for Norman to come up the stairs to look for ink. Boris said that ink is ink down here, no matter what kind it was, ink monsters would still eat it, or drink it to the best of their abilities or knowledge.   
After waiting for an hour. Norman came up the stairs to the two. Henry opened the bottle and left it in front of him.  
  
When Norman came to the top, the projection on his head turned down to see the ink in the bottle. The light that came through his lens dimmed, and he walked towards it. He picked it up and put his hand on top of the bottle, and flipped it upside down. And the ink started slowly disappearing from the bottle, once Norman was done he let the bottle drop to the floor, but a static whine escaped the speaker in his chest.   
  
He suddenly hunched down holding his head, but he could sense someone in front of him. And, someone talking?  
He hasn’t been able to hear anything since this projection came on his head, but he could hear things, slowly coming to sound. It felt like, water popped in his ears and was coming out and running down his neck. He felt the ink in the projection take shape of a head, his head. He could hear someone talking to him. “Norman… do you know who I am? What is my name? Who am I to you? Am I friend or enemy?” so many questions… but he felt like he knew that voice, he felt like he knew these questions. He knows this person, he knows that voice, and he knows who’s right in front of him.  _“H̶̺͓̏-̵̣̰̅͠h̵̰̫̾͒-̷̙̏ḩ̵̚ȩ̷̮͠n̶̥̱̄r̵̬̬̓ỷ̵̱͔…̴̗͉͠_ _”_ Norman’s voice came through the speaker in his chest, but it was somewhat filled with static.  _“H̷̬̉ę̷̈n̴̥̻̔̇r̶̠̄y̷̹͌̃…̸̘͔̀”_ Norman was remembering Henry, from the time they first meet to the time he last saw him.  
  
A memory came of him, walking around the corner to see Henry looking at some drawings and not watching where he was going. They bumped heads and pulled away. Norman started giggling about how cartoonish that was, and Henry snickered, finding the same humour. Then they both brought out laughing.  
  
_“Y̷͔̼͌ö̵̭́u̸̳̫̽ ̷̦̥̈̆w̸̜̅͜ȅ̵̻̹͘ȓ̵̖e̶͕͗…̴̥̈́͊ͅ ̶̻͊A̷̩͌-̴̢̅͝a̴̡͇̔̕r̶̢̮̓e̸̛̛͕!̴͇͌͛ ̷̲̔͛M̴̜̥͠ÿ̶͇̏ ̷͎͔̍̉f̸̧͋̇r̴̬͝i̸͖̐̃e̵̼̅̍n̴̜̂͋d̵̄̏͜ͅ…̵̜͙̍ ̴̻̐c̴͚̪͐ò̶̙̿-̵̼̈́w̴͈̼͑͂o̵̫͓͛r̷̙̼͋ḵ̸̇è̶̫r̷̪̠͐͑…̶͓̋̈́ ̸̤̿̈y̴̘̓o̶̟̙̒ų̴͌ ̸͚͎͗̈́w̴̗̒̈e̷̳̍̈́r̸̰̻͑̾ê̴̠̼͝ ̴͇̺̉d̴̮̳͛r̶̟͐̅ą̶̪̋̆f̵̫̜̒t̸̪̜̎̌ẻ̶̻͈̄d̵̜̍͝ ̷͓͌t̸̤͑o̷͙̮͛̂,̴͓̼͌ ̷̙̟́̊g̷̪̈́ō̸͕ ̸͓͍̓̓ṱ̴͚̋͑o̸̱ ̴͔̐̊ẅ̵͜ạ̴͊̓ŕ̴̮͕́…̶̲̉”_  that was what Henry really wanted to hear, “Oh great, you remember me,” Henry said glade to have a good friend back from this hell hole. Norman lifted his head to meet Henry’s sight, but he could guess the ink favoured him a little, seeing how he was covered in it but he looked something similar to what Henry drew when he worked here.  
  
Henry could now see a faint gold yellow spot in Norman’s lens, making jerking movements like an eye. “How are you feeling?” Henry asked.  _“O̷͔̮͋̈́ķ̷̈͒͜a̴̘̋ẙ̶͜,̴͍̫̆̕ ̵̙̈́ă̶̝͑s̷̠͛̓͜ ̵̤͘I̸͕̪͂ ̸͇͚͊c̶͖̘͌̾a̴̪͝n̷͈̆ ̸̫̍b̴̦͕̐e̸̞̕͝ ̵̧̫̂͆I̶̛̹̙ ̴̨̋͆g̶̪͕̈̔u̴̪͘͝e̵̗͆s̷͖̽̉ṣ̷̑̑…̷̬̾͑”_  Norman answered. From were Boris was, he was so shocked. How the hell do these two stay so calm!?  
  
But suddenly "Alice’s" voice came over some speakers.  _“Well, my errand boy you did it. Giving me back a bit more of my turf, **that was stolen from me!** ”_ her voice came. _“So projectionest, how do you feel? Not as limiting is it?”_  she teased. “Come on,” Henry said, giving Norman a shoulder up.  _“T̶̝͇͒h̸̜͋̿a̸̹̒̽ṅ̴̠̲k̵̼̫͐s̶̢̛̕,̶͈̟̏̓”_  Norman said as they got in the lift.  
  
The three started speed walking back to the safe house. But they heard a gargled, sticky hiss come from one way. So they had to go the opposite path. Much to Henry’s dislike. They walked through the demon pathway and got their feet wet with ink. Henry tripped over a loose floorboard and fell face first into the pool of ink. Said ink was up to your knees, so the man just dived into a kiddy pool of ink. He pulled his head out from the liquid and spat a bunch of it back into the pool. Then wiped a hand full of it off his face and looked back up to the toon and projectionist. But what they saw was definitely not going to make Henry’s day even better than it already was.  
  
His face had turned completely white like paper, and his facial features were gone. No eyelashes, eyebrows, nose, lips, nothing!  
But what was there now were pie cut, black eyes. And a thin black web of ink was rising out from the pool, looking like it was attached to Henry. A tail.  
A thin black looking demon tail, with three barbs fused into the tip. And he jumped from a six-pack to an eight-pack.  
  
“Guys… what’s wrong?” His voice sounded a bit more cheerful than its normal hush self. Henry stood up and looked himself down. His eyes and black part of his head were his only way of telling emotion. His eyes shrunk, and a look of panic filled his face. “Oh…” he said. You could tell his heart sank to his feet.   
  
After a near panic scenario, the trio walked the rest of the way back to the safe house. Henry and Norman took a long look in the mirror for the rest of the afternoon. 

 

* * *

 

 this is what Henry looks like at the end - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Henry-Stines-745197044)

this is what he looks like coming into the studio - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Toon-out-AU-Henry-pre-game-750629268)


	2. Diamond cards and musical notes

* * *

 

It was the next day for the boys and they were playing go fish as Boris was on a winning role ahead of Norman and Henry.  
 _“H̶͚̽ẻ̵̦y̸̟͒,̸̦̓ ̷̡̆B̷͈̅ǫ̶̀ȑ̶̡ȋ̷̮s̷͉̈́ ̶͇̓g̵͖͒ơ̷̯t̴̗̿ ̷̰͝ȁ̸͇n̴̥̋ȳ̷̗,̶̮͝ ̸ͅt̷̯͂w̴̥͊o̶̧̎s̴͍̏?̴͈̄”_  Norman asked through the static-filled speaker in his chest. “Nope,” Boris said of a simple answer.  _“ **G̴͇r̴̳̀r̷̠͆…̵̢̊** ”_ Norman growled, but it sounded more like an actual animal than human. “Henry any fives?” Boris asked “go fish,” Henry said looking back and forth between his cards and the toon wolf.   
  
Norman remembered how Henry acted when he was either bored or pondering something, and he would do exactly this. Look between something and then have his head immediately flick in the other direction to look at something else. And the only way to get him out of it is to distract him or ask him about what he’s thinking.  
So Norman thought about the ‘distract’ part first.   
  
 _“Ḫ̸̃e̵̥̾y̶̧͘,̶̨̏ ̵̤̂H̶̼̀è̸̖n̴̢̈́r̵̘̐y̶̼̐?̵͖͑”_  the projectionist asked, getting the attention of the old animator, now demon toon.   
“Yeah?” Henry responded facing his cards down  _“Ȏ̴̲k̷̯͂a̴̡͠ÿ̴̨́ ̴̥s̸̹͐ó̴͜,̸̰͝ ̷̪̏Ỉ̷͜ ̸̯͂k̴̚͜n̷͇̿ǭ̶w̶̮͗ ̴̘y̶̞͌ò̸͜u̴̜͠ ̶͕̔w̷̟͝ẻ̴̘r̸̳̈́e̶͉̓ ̴͓̓g̶̣͒ơ̷̪n̶̦̈e̴̤͋ ̴̹͘b̵̧̋e̷̱͗c̶̢̏a̵̤̒u̶͍͗ş̷̀e̸̞͠ ̴̧̈ò̸͜f̷͓͋ ̶̡̇w̴̭͑a̵͙͘r̷͕̾,̷̖̈́ ̷͚̈́b̴̖͠u̸̙̽t̷̙̀,̷̥̓ ̴͙̈ẅ̵̘́h̶̯̾y̴̝͊ ̵͍̈́ḍ̸̛i̸͉͝ḓ̴̂n̶̗͒'̷͖͌t̴̛͙ ̶͓̎y̸̳̾o̴̾ͅṷ̴̐ ̴̟̍é̵̜v̶͚̅e̸̮̊r̴̯ ̴̮̚c̸͓͆o̴͇̓m̷̱̂e̴͇͠ ̸̯̉b̸̖͐ả̷̯c̶̳̑k̸͙̾ ̴͈̄ǔ̴̡n̴̹̒t̷̬̄ỉ̸̪l̵̳̈́ ̴̘̍n̸̯ó̴͍w̷͕͘?̵̼̚”_  Norman asked.   
Henry suddenly froze jolting as if he felt a spider run up his back.  
“Oh, umm…” Henry started “long story…” he said looking down and fiddling with the diamond card in his hand.   
 _“W̴̲̕ĕ̴̪'̴̅͜ȑ̶͙e̷̼̿ ̷̡̈́l̶̛̝i̸̙͑ṡ̴ͅt̷̖̂e̴̠̍n̶̖͝i̵͍̔ǹ̶̞g̵̛̜.̸̞̽.̸͚̏.̷̮”_  Norman said facing down his own hand.  
  
Henry was not sure if what he was about to answer was a good idea, but he would never know if he didn’t try.  
“I… well,” Henry pauses then sighs. “Okay. Yes, you’re right. I was gone to war but the thing is, they said it would go on for four months, but it went on for four years…” he stopped. “And I don’t know what is worse. People fighting in a war every day with over millions of other people from other countries fighting for something that wasn’t even their fault.” He said razing his left hand “or being turned into ink-tar monsters and being forced to live in an abandoned studio for over thirty years…” he said razing his right. He then dropped them and hunched forward with his elbows on the table while looking down.   
  
To break the mould, Norman asked another question.  _“B̵͍̈́ŭ̵͎t̸̖̓ ̴̝̒w̵̨̌h̶̼̑y̴̖̔ ̷̪̆d̷̡̓i̶̲͋d̵̬̋n̸̦͂’̵͚̊t̴̳͆ ̴̙̆y̶͎͋o̷̥͂u̵̘͒ ̶̮̓c̷̡̅o̸̘̽ṁ̷̱e̸̮̋ ̷͉b̶̘̓à̴͙c̷̜͛k̸̯͛ ̴͖̃a̸̢̚f̶̨̌t̸̮̓e̷̫̾r̶̮̈ ̶̥̂ị̷͌t̸̮͌ ̶͈̈e̷͖͐n̵̘͌d̷̻̋e̸̲̾ď̵̤?̷͕̐”_  He asked slouching back into his chair. “It left me and so many other good men in shell shock, and I wasn’t able to properly work or do anything for years. Just walking through a crowd would send me into "war mode" and I would have a panic attack.” Henry responded, “so it wouldn’t have done me any good if I came back.” He finished.  _“T̵͈͗h̴̲̒e̴̙͝n̸̠̏ ̵̳̀w̶͍̃ẖ̸̈́a̶̖̐t̷̩̓ ̶̽ͅä̷̞́b̸̦̃ő̶̰u̸̻̓ţ̵̔ ̴̪̔w̶͖͠h̵͉̋ḛ̵̆ṅ̸͖ ̵̪͆y̵̠̍o̴̗̚u̶̧̿ ̶͓͂g̷̪͊o̸̡̕t̵̛̯ ̷̬̎b̴̧͑ê̵͔t̴͙̊t̵̯͝e̴̹̋r̴͖͆?̷̒ͅ”_  Norman asked trying to see through his old friend.   
But to Norman’s surprise, Henry started giggling and then breaking into a few chuckles, he was sounding a little crazy but that quickly stopped as he became misty-eyed.   
“Now that’s the funny thing…” Henry paused holding his head down, showing a top view of his head with added horns. “There was a second war and by the time I had recovered, I was drafted into going…” he paused again “And that one was the worst. It went on for six years… and then the whole cycle started over again, but it didn't take as long that time.” Henry said slowly lifting his head to see the other's reactions.  
  
Boris dropped his cards then sat up and came over to Henry to give him a hug without a word. The wolf toon wined a little, crying for his friend. Norman shifted his chair over to the two and placed his hand on Henry’s shoulder. A sad gold glowing eye making its appearance in his lens.  
  
  
After a bit, Norman was about to stand up when a cord hanging from his back got caught on his chair and pulled out. He let out a mighty, sickeningly, loud screech that acted like a roar and it shook the room. Then he fell to the ground holding were the cord was pulled out in pain.  _“ **A̶͕̟͈̓̿A̸̻͑̿͐H̷̼͐̏͘-̵͋͜Ḩ̷͘Ä̵̡͖̘!̶̘͝ ̵̖͙̦͌̕T̷͈̍̔͋H̴̨̫̀́A̸̢̘̜͠T̸̘̠̳̊ ̴͙̜̾̉̚H̷̳̖͐̓U̴̖̍R̸̤͛T̵̟̦͆ ̶̭̬͒L̸͙͑̃̚I̴̯̥͒̈́͆K̶̜͎̜̊͒̓Ȅ̴̤ ̸̬͚̪̌͛͠A̵̦̝͆̔̍ ̸̧̀̍́M̴̮͙̖̽͑O̷̤͎̊̋͆ͅT̶͍̯̎̅H̵̬̖̿̾͜E̴̳̐͘͝R̵͔͘͘ ̴̼̒F̸̭͍̋Ư̶̞̑C̵̢̀̈K̴̮̲͖̈Ĕ̵̢̳̄R̷̰̒͝͝!̵̺̫͕͒!̸͈͚̦̂͂͆!̶̫͠** ”_ Norman’s voice boomed through the speaker in his chest.  
Boris was curled over holding his ears down in a tight ball, while Henry was slouched down really far into his chair while having his whole head wrapped into his arms and grinding his teeth.   
  
“Okay we are doing something about that now,” Henry said looking down at the projection headed man on the floor. “WHAT!?!” Boris yelled.   
  
Henry started setting up to help Norman with his mess of a back.  
He removed the soft mattress, pillow, and blanket from his stretcher bed and folded them out of the way, but he removed the pillow covers and placed the pillow back on.  
He grabbed two buckets of holy ink and two more full of normal water.  
Two massive durable paint brushes, a paper towel roll, and a medical kit.  
  
Norman came into the room all three of them sleep in with Boris behind him coming to sit on his trunk and watch.  
“Okay Norman, I want you to lay your head down and face me,” Henry said grabbing a paint brush.  _“O̵̙̓k̸͔̇à̷̖y̵̡͝,̶̼͑”_  Norman said laying down on the almost welcoming pillow.   
Henry got to work, he dipped the brush he grabbed into one of the buckets of water then coming onto painting Norman’s back with water. As ink came washing off from around the wires and movie tape weaved into his body like horrible stitching, that’s when the paper towels came into act now. Henry patted and dabbed along Norman’s back, making sure he left it moist.   
“How does it feel Norman?” Boris asked watching from behind Henry.  _“I̷̱͑ẗ̴́͜ ̴̚͜f̵̧̍e̵̟̾e̶͓̒ḷ̷̾s̷̐ͅ ̴̥͠l̶̬̒i̵̛̻k̷̪̋e̵͔̊ ̷̦̈́h̸̠͝e̵͇̍’̴͇̈́s̶͙̒ ̶̡͌j̴̲͆u̵̖͛ṡ̷̨t̴̺͠ ̷͕͆w̴͓̓i̵͉̔p̸̺͋ḙ̸̄i̸̱̾ṋ̶͌g̵̰͛ ̶̧͝a̸̘̍n̴͍̔ ̸̯̈i̴̦̅c̸̬̈́e̸̩̒ ̵̪͝p̴̼͋a̷̫̔c̷̢̅k̵̩̏ ̸͕̎d̴̫́o̷͎̿ẃ̴̱ṇ̸̆ ̵̩̈́m̵͔̈́y̶̩͗ ̶̫̅b̶̠̊ȁ̴̢c̶͚̅k̴̩̈ ̵̧͝c̸̤̎ǫ̷̂n̶͙s̸͇͑ṭ̵̔a̴̺͊n̵̲̍t̵͔̑l̷̦̃y̷̰͝,̴̘͑”_  Norman responded with his speaker sounding a little topsy-turvy because of his position. Suddenly Norman felt a slither go through his skin with a little pinch like popping a pimple.  _“W̶͇̅ḩ̸͠ò̴̫a̵̲͘!̸̃ͅ ̷̧̏J̸̢̐e̷̝͘e̶̻͊ẑ̸͕!̶͓͝ ̴͙t̸̘͠ḥ̵̑a̷̯̓t̷͓̔ ̷͉̇f̵̝̀e̶̻͑l̷̠̔t̶̲ ̷͙̔a̴͖̅ ̵̪̌l̵̹̉i̶̝͌t̵̠͗t̵̬̄l̴̞͂e̶̙͋ ̶͔͠o̵̩̓d̸̟͆d̵͖ ̸̣̅t̴̗̓h̵͖̅ë̵̺́ŕ̷͔e̵̯͠ ̴̦̾H̷̪̿e̶̲̐n̷͔̏r̵̪͋y̸̮̔,̸̖́”_  Norman said having a chill run up his spine. “Sorry, that was just one of your tapes” Henry apologized.  
  
This was like dusting off dinosaur fossils for Henry taking time and patience, as he brushed away the more he revealed of what was under Norman’s skin.  
Henry had found stray bits of wire and film that didn’t attach to Norman’s speaker or head, so he threw them aside and eventually made his way to the bone of Norman’s spine and ribcage. If Norman were to stand now, he would look like a starving thin man.   
He pulled out the rest of the film reel that was intertwined trough Norman’s ribcage like a garden flower arch.  
Then he used the bandages in the medical kit to tie up Norman’s taping in a ponytail and cut it to an even length.   
Last was the stray cords that did attach to Norman’s speaker but didn't attach to his head, and to get to that, things had to get messier. “Norman can you place your fingers in the holy ink?” Henry asked moving a bucket full of holey ink closer to Norman.  _“Ŝ̴̪u̶̬͌r̸̜̎ȅ̷̫.̷̛̳.̵̼͗.̸̋͜”_  Norman said dipping his right hand slightly into the ink. So with Norman’s technical IV drip now in play, Henry grabbed the other paintbrush and started pushing loads of ink off Norman’s bones revealing grey tinted white ribs. Henry kept this up till Norman’s whole ribcage was hollow. It was like digging into sand, with the soft sand being the first layer then the wet sand at the bottom.   
Henry saw where the speaker was infused with Norman’s chest and pulled out the stray cords. Norman was too weak and sleepy to scream in pain.   
  
Then that was the end. Norman just had to regenerate his own ink over what Henry had changed.   
Henry walked out then came back with more buckets of holy ink. “Okay, Norman this will be like your medicine. Scull this all down at once and you should be okay, but you might need to sit up.”  
Henry placed the buckets down and helped lift Norman up because of how heavy his head is compared to his body, that and he had his torso of bones still exposed making his body lighter.   
Henry placed another bucket at Norman’s side. “Dip your whole arm in and scull it” Henry ordered.  
Norman did so, seeing the level of the buckets drop dramatically and watching Norman’s ribs and spine get covered back up with ink. Once that was done there were four empty buckets of holy ink, and a fixed Norman Polk.  
  
 _“Thanks, Henry,”_  Norman said feeling over his back but he could only feel the tapes from his head tied up in a ponytail.  _“This reminds me of before I turned into this. I tied my afro up, around when you left”_  Norman said gripping the appendage that acted as his hair. “Glad you like it. And the only wires you have left are three from your speaker to your head, but they have a direct route through your ribcage.” Henry said, happy with his handy work.  
  
  
Henry cleaned up his stretcher and then continued with their game of go fish. But he was still looking back and forth around the room.  _“Okay Henry, what are you thinking about?”_  Norman asked Henry looking a little frustrated. “Oh, umm…” Henry was court off guard from the shift in Norman’s tone but rolled with it. “I was thinking about Sammy. I know helping him would be a lot harder than helping you was but…” he paused “I know he can be helped.” Norman and Boris looked at each other in unison then back at Henry. “We're not gonna be able to change your mind are we?” Boris asked. “I don’t know, you tell me” Henry came back with.  
Both Boris and Norman sighed and started getting ready to leave for the music department.   
  
  
A bit later and the boys had their stuff ready. But unlike what glass size they gave Norman full of holy ink, they have to give Sammy something way bigger. They are going to give him a massive alcohol bottle full. Norman had the portion of a 600ml bottle.   
Henry had his axe ready and Norman had a pipe, Boris wasn’t one for fighting but he brought his bone with him for safe keeping. Boris held the bottle of holy ink and Henry walked in front of him, Norman just held the role of watching their back. And with a plan of sorts they left.  
  
“Jeez, this is terrifying…” Henry said walking slowly down the halls of “Alice’s” turf, gripping his ax with both hands and trembling with each step.  _“Says you. I’m the one who has to watch us from behind…”_ Norman said complaining. “Will you both be quiet!...” Boris quietly screamed under his breath.  
Henry turned around to argue with the toon wolf but his tail knocked over an empty bacon soup can that bounced a metal echo down the halls. The men froze as they waited for a sound of the ink demon approaching. But none came.  
  
Henry pulled a big innocent smile up at the other two, but they just glared daggers at him.  
Boris placed his bone in his mouth and grabbed Henry’s tail, wrapping it around the demon's waist. “There,” Boris said with a venomous tone. And with that firmly settled by Boris, they pressed forward.   
  
After a long and painfully scary walk they finally reached the hallway Henry was chased down by “Bendy” and walked through the ink-stained halls to the music department.   
Norman was getting a massive vibe of deja vu walking through this place. He decided to do a detour for a second, walking up some stairs into a booth with a recording in it. He saw Henry and Boris walk into the recording studio below so he knows where they are, but he pressed play on the tape. With the sudden click, Henry and Boris heard they looked up to see Norman in the booth above them playing a tape next to a projector.  
  
 _"Every day the same strange thing happens, I'll be up here in my booth, the band will be swinging, and suddenly Sammy Lawrence just comes marching in and shuts the whole thing down. Tells us all to wait in the hall.  
Then I hear him. He starts up my projector, and he dashes from the projection booth and down to the recording studio like the little devil himself was chasing behind.   
Few seconds later, the projector turns off. But Sammy, oh no, he doesn't come out for a long time. This man is weird.   
Crazy weird. I got half a mind to talk to Mr. Drew about all this, I really do. But then again, I have to admit. Mr. Drew has his own peculiarities.”_   
  
Norman was crying big fat inky tears from his lens with the gold light acting as his eye shaking violently.   
His voice.  
He remembered being so happy with his job when he first arrived, he remembered always smiling when someone said “hi” to him, he remembered having a skip in his voice.  
And now he lost it, he has no joy in his voice, he had no hope for most things he saw in this hell of a studio. All he had happiness for was gone and Henry did say he’s been gone for thirty years. He was now scared for his family and friends that he had outside of work. They must be worried sick about him. He fell to the floor with a thud. Henry and Boris came slowly walking out of the recording studio and up the stairs, to the both were Norman was.  
  
The projector headed man was sitting on his legs, his chest rising and falling in a quick manner. His Eye was smaller than a pea and jerking violently in his lens. He raised his hands up, flipping them over. But he only saw a memory to around when he first started working at Joey Drew studios.  
  
He had cut his hand really bad while fixing a projector, and he didn’t know where the medical ward was. It was after hours as well, so not many people were here. He came to someone he so far new would be here. He came up to Sammy’s office and knocked, and within a few seconds, Sammy Lawrence head songwriter and head of the music department was at the door.  
Norman held his hand that he cut and was dripping blood all over the floor while he spoke to Sammy.  
“Hi Mister Lawrence, do you mind telling me where the medical ward is?” Norman asked looking at him with a soft smile. He was younger than the man in front of him so he hoped Sammy would take pity on him. “Oh god! What happened?” Sammy yelled while pushing him to the medical ward. “I just cut my hand on the projector” Norman answered calmly. “Jeez, that must be one big projector if the cuts that deep” Sammy said sort of shocked that this kid just cut his hand on a projector when the cut looks like it came from something like a knife. “No. It was normal size,” Norman answered.  
  
Sammy sited Norman on the bed in the medical ward and got out some needle and thread. And started stitching the cut closed. “Ah!” Norman hissed. “Sorry! You okay?” Sammy asked. “I took the cut, I can take the stitch” Norman responded.  
Once Sammy fixed him, Norman sat up and started walking back to the both he worked in. “Now to go fix the dammed thing,” Norman said. “Oh no you don’t,” Sammy said firmly stopping him like how a parent would to their child. “I’ll fix that thing for you,” Sammy said walking in front of Norman up to the both. “Wait, Mr. Lawrence-” Norman tried to warn him but Sammy interrupted. “Oh please I’ve seen you projectionists work over a hundred times, I know I can do this.”  
But that led to Sammy’s pride being cut deeper than the cut he got that day, after the fiasco in front of Norman. But after that, they had identical scares on the opposite hand and they became best friends for a good stretch of time. Until that one day.  
  
That ended the memory of Norman and Sammy bonding for the first time, Norman even still remembered joking about it from time to time.  
  
Norman yelled as loud as his speaker could let him.  ** _"_** _ **JOEY DREW!!!! "**_ Norman yelled. Shaking the room with Instruments falling over in the room below. Boris and Henry then turned into sprinting up the stairs to Norman as he had shifted his position to be on his hands and knees. Boris came straight to the projectionist’s side and started comforting him, Henry did the same to what Norman did for him placing his hand on his shoulder.  
  
  
But unknown to them Sammy was just down the stairway, watching them.  
He remembered that voice, but it was covered up by talking into a speaker and it sounded so lifeless like all that fun it once had was gone. He felt tempted to walk up the stairs to help comfort him but he trudged back to his office.   
  
  
Boris’s ears perked up and he flicked his attention to down the stairs as he saw a searcher with legs and overalls on, walk off down the hall to Sammy’s office. “Hey! there he is!” Boris yelled. They all looked down the stairs and Sammy flinched. He then made a b-line sprinting down to his office to hide, all three men sprinted after him. Sammy was just about to open the door to his old office when the three men tackled him to the floor, Norman lifted him up clear off the ground and walked into his office with the inky man kicking and flailing.   
“Let me go flock!” Sammy yelled, “Flock?” Boris asked confused, “It’s what you call a herd of sheep” Henry answered as they walked through the door “ah,” Boris said in realization. But this confused Henry, shouldn’t Boris know what you call a group of sheep, he worked on the animation were Boris was a sheep farmer, called sheep song.   
  
Henry locked the door and Norman placed Sammy into a chair. “So my little sheep has come back to his pen. Tell me, why did you bring other rams? New friends of yours?” Sammy asked looking at them from where he was sat. “I’m surprised you even recognize me,” Henry said looking down at the inky man, who he just realized had no mask on. “Your voice calls out more than your form little lamb,” Sammy said.   
 _“So, what now?”_  Norman asked, “We wait until he needs ink” Henry replied “I hope you remember how long we had to wait until Norman had to come up,” Boris said. “Yeah I remember, but I have a gut feeling we don’t have to wait as long.”  
  
After a few minutes Sammy got up stated to try and get out to find some ink but Norman stopped him and gave Henry the notice that he had to give him the holy ink.   
Henry showed Sammy a massive bottle of ink and handed it to him, Sammy removed the cap and drank it as memories came rushing back to him about his co-workers and the old life that he left behind because of his job. He fell to the floor and started having a pain in his head of something similar to migraines.  
Henry leaned down to Sammy’s level and started asking him some questions.   
  
“Sammy, do you know me? Do you remember me?” Henry asked as he watched Sammy have a similar reaction to what Norman had except when Norman started getting his memories back he got his voice back, but for this situation, Sammy’s legs started to form and take shape of tap dancing shoes from the odd slushy numbs he had before as feet.  
Sammy’s voice started to go shaky as fear and adrenalin started reaching into his throat. “You were an animator here, I wrote songs for you and Joey” Sammy paused “You were a good man unlike Joey, and you were forced into going to the great war.”  
  
Sammy gained a memory of when Henry walked down into the music department to tell everyone that the episode they were recording for was scrapped. But the thing was they had been working on those songs for days. So when Henry shut the thing down, everyone started arguing with him and blaming him for a hole few day’s worths of work to be for nothing. When it eventually turned into a mob for Henry, Sammy stepped in and told all of them to “get lost and get over it.” After that fiasco, Henry gave Sammy the new ideas for the next chapter so he could begin writing songs.  
“Today not your day huh Stein?” Sammy asked Henry reading the ideas for songs “No but your day is a good day isn’t it Lawrence?” Henry asked in a smart way back to Sammy. They both laughed and were about to walk away when Henry asked something, “hey what happened to your hand?” he asked noticing the scar on Sammy’s right hand that went up to the middle of his palm and past his knuckles on the other side. “Oh, I was trying to help the new kid Norman with a projector but I got my hand cut,” Sammy said “oh well I hope your pride wasn’t CUT deeper than that” Henry said trying to make a pun. “I will give you a nasty gash yourself if you make another horrible pun like that again in my department” Henry only laughed and walked off smiling all the way back to his desk.  
  
Sammy snapped out of his trance and looked back up at Henry and Norman. “Wow… and I thought I looked like a freak, but you two take the cake” Sammy said looking at the demon toon and projection headed men.   
All three men looked at each other and smiled in unison. (except for Norman) “Welcome back Sammy,” Henry said helping the ink monster man up.  
  
They filled Sammy in on what’s been happening with them and the “Bendy” he’s been worshipping as they walked back to the safe house.   
But as they were walking back down the ink flooded hall they heard a roar from behind them that was approaching them quickly.  
“RUN!!!” Henry yelled as they sprinted down the hall turning a tight corner, Norman hit the wall and smashed his head in a little with a dent in it now, Norman couldn’t see for a second but forced himself to focus but when his vision cleared he was greeted with “Bendy” whacking him at the side of the head and flew down the rest of the hall where he hit his head again against the top of the door he slid down it with his head now looking like a crippled car, he got up feeling really dizzy and being blind but then he was lifted into the room where Henry meet Boris for the first time and heard a slam as the door behind him closed with “Bendy” pounding on it then moaning in defeat.   
  
“Norman, you okay?” Henry asked.  
Norman was hurting so bad his head felt so broken. He placed his hands under the projection that made his head and pulled it off. Revealing a human-like head that had movie real tapes as hair and white pie-cut eyes that had a gold glowing dot in them acting as his pupils. “Ow,” Norman said through his new mouth as ink slowly started spitting out from his lips.   
Everyone looked at the man in shock, but when bubbling and oozing ink started coming from the wall they decided to deal with what just happened when they got back to the safe house.   
The four men ran the rest of the way back without looking behind themselves and locked the door behind them.   
  
Everyone looked at each other as they gathered around the table catching their breath. Then they all pulled a slow smile at each other as they realized that they just out ran the ink demon.  
Norman walked into the bathroom and looked himself in the mirror. His face lit up with how happy he was to see that a heavy projection was not on his head anymore. But something caught his attention.  
  
He had a white ascot loosely hanging around his neck and his hair was empty film reel, already tied up in a very short ponytail. He didn't have the speaker in his chest anymore, and he had massive black gloves with gold dots on them over his knuckles, that rolled back a little at his elbows. And black diving boots with white spikes coming out of them that had single gold buttons on.  
  
Norman smiled once again and walked back out to the others. "I definitely think that holly-ink is worthwhile guys," Norman said smiling at the others.

 

* * *

 

 

link to what Norman looks like at the end - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Norman-Polk-743540371)


	3. Three men, one wolf

The next day was a weird one, the bedroom was getting cramp with four people sleeping in the same room but it was still manageable.  
The boys were playing a game of cards when a massive ‘smash’ was heard outside, like something breaking. Henry got up and opened the door to see what it was, and he saw that a door that was previously locked before was now smashed open.  
“What the?” Henry said grabbing his axe and walking out. “Wait where are you going?” Norman asked watching him leave, “A door out here was smashed open, I’m going to check it out,” Henry said walking by himself to the splintered, busted down the door.   
  
Henry walked down a long corridor that had some other ways to go but he just kept on walking forward, until he came to a dead end that had a broken miracle station at the end. Henry looked around as he had a feeling that he was being watched, he gripped his axe tighter and walked back.   
On his way, he saw a tape recording. He pressed it and let the audio play.  
  
 _“Okay so let’s go over this again. If the pressure goes over 45. I screw the safety bolt in tighter, right?”_  
Wally Franks voice came through the small speakers on the recording.  
 _“No! For the last time, you do that, you’ll blow every pipe in this place! If it reaches 45 you unlock the safety switch.”_  
This was something Henry hasn’t heard yet, a two-way conversation in a recording. In this case, it was Thomas Conner and Wally Franks talking.  
 _“You sure? You know, this sounds harder than comparing ear wax to bee’s wax!”  
“Look. It’s not that difficult! Just keep an eye on the gauge!”  
“Look pal. If you think I’m doing my job AND yours, I’m outta here!”_  
With that, the tape made a click and finished. Henry thought it would be worth bringing back the recording so his possible suicide trip wasn’t a waste.  
  
Henry walked back with the recording under his arm and showed the others what he found. He played the tape again and waited for everyone to respond. “Man I remember those two, always bickering about their jobs,” Norman said smiling down at the tape. “I almost forgot about how annoying Wally was,” Sammy said smiling as well.  
But Boris just stared at the tape looking in shock, then mouthed the words “I’m outta here”. He pinched the bridge of his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts. He recognized that voice, the gruff one telling the other man what to do.   
“Thomas…” Boris said looking down at the tape. “You say something Boris?” Henry asked looking at the toon wolf with concern. “What...? oh no! I’m fine” Boris said smiling back at the demon toon. But Henry didn’t by it.   
  
Later that day they were playing cards again but this time Sammy had the lead in winning. Much to Boris’s dislike. When Sammy won the game Boris decided to go for a walk on his own.   
“Oh come on, wolf, don’t be a sore loser,” Sammy said watching Boris pic up his bone and leave the safe house. “Boris!” Henry yelled. “I’m not leaving because of Sammy, I’m just going for a walk!” Boris yelled back, pushing down the urge to say “I’m outta here.”  
  
Boris walked all the way to level eleven to see if something he saw before was still there, to his thanks it was. It was a tape recording of a man by the name of Wally Franks. Boris knows he’s heard that name before somewhere. He presses play and waits for the small yet powerful speakers to kick in.  
  
 _"I don't get it. Everyone's walking around here like grandma just died. Nothing but angry faces everywhere. These people gotta lighten up. I mean, hello! You make cartoons! Your job is to make people laugh. I'm tellin' ya. If these people don't start crackin' a smile every now and then, I'm outta here."_    
  
The wolf felt tears swell in his eyes as he let the soft click finish the tape. He knew these voices dam it! Why couldn’t he remember?! Boris picked up the tape and was about to walk off when he saw ink covering down the hallway walls in a pulsing, vain like fashion. “Oh, crud!” Boris said as he walked in the break room next to him from the hall and sat in a miracle station. At the bottom of the both, Boris cried for his life.   
He could hear the beat of his tears hit the floor of the both in unison as his heart pounded in his chest. He waited for the ink demon to go.  
After a bit the monster left, leaving Boris to sit in silence looking at the tape he was risking his life for.   
  
As a way of protecting the tape and making easier travel, Boris put the tape recording in his hammerspace. A nifty thing for being in a studio full of dangers and horrors.  
While walking back, Boris examined the area where “Bendy” went through the wall and grabbed out a notebook he uses to keep track of stuff in this hell of a studio, he admittedly has made a habit of things like this now. This was proved even further by the notebook itself. It was stuffed and overloaded with information about the studio. To the monsters, to the noteworthy audio logs and so on.  
But what scared him was what info he had before on "Bendy". What he’s seeing on the wall in front of him was a thin outline, like a shadow, in the shape of “Bendy”. The ink demon leaves it when he fazes through a wall. And the one he had written and sketched out about in his book was bulkier than what he’s seeing now. The one in front of him was far more slender and emaciated than what he had recorded before.   
Which meant “Bendy” had changed form a little.  
  
Boris wasn’t going to stick around any longer. He speed-walked back to the shelter and saying something that now somehow rang a bell. “I’d better get outta here.”  
  
  
Boris walked through the door a few minutes later, much to everyone’s relief. “You okay Boris? I’m sorry for being a bit harsh on you about the game” Sammy said looking at the wolf. “I said I wasn’t angry at you, I just wanted to go and get something,” Boris said pulling the tape recording out from his pocket. “How did you?...” Norman asked in blind confusion on how that worked. “Don’t ask.” Boris’s voice brock charter a little, sounding higher pitched than the gruff wolf voice he has normally. Everyone pushed it aside and listened to the recording.   
After that everyone looked at Boris then the tape. “Why did you get this?” Henry asked looking at the wolf sceptically. “It reminded me of something, but I don’t know what.”  
  
  
After a bit of time, the men decided to finish the angel's errands. They finally managed to make ink hearts stable by dipping them in holly-ink. They walked back to her door and dumped the hearts in the bin next to her door.   
 **“Ahh~ looks like you finally managed to give me what I need. For a second there I thought you were never coming back.”**  “Alice”, said in a creepy and seductive way that made Henry’s skin crawl and his spine writhe, making him flick his tail.  **“Now take the lift my errand boys, the first levels are waiting for you and family.”**    
  
Sammy could feel his skin shaking on his back as he hugged his other arm. He remembered that voice anywhere. “Susie…” Sammy said in a hush pain filed voice “why?” He wanted to ask Henry if they could help her but then he remembered that the further gone you are the more holy ink you need. Sammy realized that Susie would need more than the ink river behind them to have her memory's come back.  
Norman wasn’t okay with hearing “Alice’s” voice either. He could remember the voice actors true voice on how melody like she could sing, to suddenly throwing her voice, that echoed down the halls to the upper levels, making everyone want to come and hear her sing. He felt his scalp have a squirmy chilled feeling as if like a twitch, making the tapes that act like his hair shake and rattle.  
Boris wasn’t holding this good either. He could feel a chill go up against his spine and it made his fur stand on end.   
  
They started walking to the lift, Henry was thinking how he was going to explain this to Linda after “Alice” said ‘family’ or would she even let him talk because of how he looked now. He was thinking about this as they entered the lift and started going up.   
Norman was scared for himself, he didn’t know how his mother was or if she would even except him like how he is now.   
Sammy was worried about his parents and sister, he knew she was pregnant by the time he last wrote to her. He just hoped she was okay.  
Boris felt a little uneasy about this, he could feel a weight in his stomach get heavier the higher they when. But then it suddenly felt sickly light, as a female child’s voice was giggling in the back of his head, but oddly enough it didn’t feel creepy it felt… …comforting… happy, welcoming. “Dona…” Boris said to quiet for anyone to hear.   
  
As they when higher and higher “Alice” kept on talking about how she will never get to see heaven, it eventually broke into a laugh owned to a maniac as then the elevator dropped zooming past doors that lead to other levels as sparks flew onto the shaking floor. Everyone started panicking.  
Boris crouched down holding his hands over his ears and shutting his eyes tightly.  
Sammy was slumped over trying to just stand, with ink floating off his body and hitting the ceiling of the elevator.  
Norman’s hair was flailing as he was standing up straight with his arms out holding his balance.  
Henry was gripping onto the floor for dear life, the claws on his hands and his great strength making quick work of the floor as in crushed in his grip like tinfoil.  
  
“Alice” kept on screaming at Henry to give her Boris, all four men suddenly heard her voice over the screeching of the falling elevator. Boris was suddenly on full alert, as he opened his eyes and uncovered his ears. He laid flat on his back in the middle of the elevator and held his hands behind his head, squeezing his eyes shut and just breathing waiting to feel pain through his body or ringing in his ears.   
“Alice” yelled a last bit about getting Boris off Henry once he was dead. Henry looked at everyone and they all looked back as inky tears started flowing down their eyes like overgrown shrubbery before everything went blank.  
  
Boris woke up in an awkward position in the elevator. He saw Henry just in front of him while Sammy was just off to the left and Norman on the right. He got up and started trying to shake them awake fearing for the worst. “Sammy! Norman! Henry!” Boris’s voice started breaking charter again but a lot worse than last time.   
He started shaking Henry furiously. Panic written all over his face. Ink dripping down his brow as of acting like sweat. Boris could see Henry open his eyes a little as he slowed down on shaking him but he didn’t realize “Alice” was right behind him.  
  
He stopped for a second to let Henry wake up on his own, but then he was grabbed by the back of his overalls and was pulled back to fast for his mind to render what was happening.  
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Boris’s screamed in a young man’s voice as he fell into the dark hallways and passed out. Henry just saw Boris get pulled into the dark hall in front of him and he just heard him scream.


	4. Fight for new wings take flight

 Henry woke up with a sore head and thumping in his ears, he looked to his right to see Norman around the other side of the lift, unconscious but he could see him breathing. Sammy was to his left and was laying down in a corner.  
  
Henry could start too heard things apart from the ringing in his ears, he could hear… tweeting?  
He suddenly became aware of something flying around his head he looked up to see birds flying around in a perfect circle above his horns, “What the?” Henry said and started swatting them away, they got scared and flew away out of his sight.  
  
Henry got up and walked over to Norman to wake him up, “Hey, Norman!” Henry said shaking him awake “huh?” Norman woke up rubbing his head but something was off. One of his eyes was a spiral shape, giving the impression that he was dizzy. Norman shook his head but very oddly, a cowbell being shaken rapidly came in time as he shaked his head.   
Norman and Henry looked at each other in silence, they were very confused about what just happened. Henry rolled with the punches from this odd and sudden wacky actings and stood to wake up Sammy without a word.   
  
“Hey Sammy, get up,” Henry said nudging Sammy’s foot with his own.  
Sammy woke up feeling very groggy, he pinched the bridge of his nose to hold down a headache. “Ow, ow, ow,” Sammy repeated. “What happened?” he asked not entirely remembering. “We fell from level nine down to S,” Henry answered. “Well, that explains this splitting headache.” Sammy responded, “Honestly Lawrence, when do you not have a headache?” Norman said walking over. “I can never remember,” Sammy responded.  
Henry pulled him up and they started walking down a hallway. “Hey, where’s Boris?” Norman asked looking back behind them. “That bad “Alice” took him,” Henry said stoically “what!?” Sammy and Norman said surprised that the toon wolf was taken “yeah… now where going after him,” Henry said suddenly becoming animated.   
Sammy and Norman yelled again at the same time- “WHAT!?!” Henry looked back at them in confusion, “what do you mean? ‘what’” Henry asked. “You do realize this is the heart of “Alice’s” turf, right?” Norman said with a slightly shocked expression “so?” Henry said continuing down the hall.  
  
His feet stuck to paper as he walked down the hall only for it to fall off a few steps later, Norman and Sammy followed in V formation behind the stoic cartoon demon.   
Henry took in the surroundings from the poster to the crate and plank down the hall, but what caught him where fancy sealing lights that were lighting up the hallway. ‘We must be coming into an expensive area. No wonder “Alice” likes this place’ Henry thought as they came to a stop. A sign lightened up in front of them saying Grant Cohen’s office to the right and archives plus R and D access to the left was a possible sign of getting somewhere, seeing how the left way was sort of destroyed and the right way had a door they went right, only to see the door needed a valve, so they went back and walked down the left hall to Grant Cohen’s office.  
  
The door across from Grant’s office was locked so they went into his office with really no other option. But what they saw was a chilling sight to see…  
All over the walls were numbers and equations as well as continues sentences following the lines of “it doesn’t add up” or “time is money, time is money”.   
Henry looked into a caved in wall at the back of the room, to see a valve half hidden under some dirt. Henry pulled it out with a little bit of dust flying out sending Henry into a bit of a coughing fit.  
Sammy and Norman were shocked to see how long Grant must have gone before this place probably caught up with him by turning him into a monster. Sammy saw a tape covered in bubbling ink on Grant’s desk and went over to hear it.  
  
 _“You know, this place has gone too far! I’m finished working for Mr. Joey Drew! So far he only cares about that dammed ink machine, instead of the actual animations or the health of any of his co-workers! THAT’S IT I !!-”_  the tape suddenly pauses as if Grant had just spotted something  _“AHHHHH!!! Ah-ha! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Hack!”_  the tape paused again for a bit.  _“Hurr… (SPLASH!)”_    
  
And that ended the tape with a sharp but soft click.  
All the men were very shocked by what they just heard. “Grant…” Sammy said looking down at the tape. “At least he, ether became a two or three,” Sammy said giving a weak smile, looking back at Norman, “My money is on three,” Norman said looking at the ink splash under the office chair.  
Henry looked back at the two and started walking out the room but slowed enough so he could talk to them. “What do you guys mean by a three or two?” Henry asked from the doorway, “We mean the stages of being a searcher,” Norman answered. “there are five stages of being a searcher the first is the most common you see around the studio, next is a swollen, after that is an odd mix of a normal one and a cat, there backs will be highly arched and they have two small stumps that are like legs, the fourth is what I was when you found me, and final is a human skeleton made of ink, but I haven’t seen one for myself.” Sammy said as they followed Henry down the hall back to the door.  
  
“I haven’t seen one myself either, but rumour in the ink is they are as closest to your human self you can get and they live in groups, so if you see one, a room of them is not far behind” Norman said in a matter of fact voice, “well we now have the valve, let’s see how we go.”  
Henry puts the valve back in its place and turns it. The door opens with a slow, exaggerated, old creak but when the door opens, what they're greeted with is a few ink covered people in front of a massive Bendy statue in odd positions as if they’re afraid of it. A charming little music box song was playing off a gramophone in the corner as lights came on, eliminating the statue.   
  
After a bit of eerily silence, Norman spoke up, giving Sammy a nudge to get his attention. “this was how (duck quack) up, you… were...” Norman started then trailed off after a duck quack replaced his swear word. Sammy and Henry started giggling after the random sound effect “what the (coach whistle)?” Norman said, and as before his swear was censored with a silly sound, “jezz Norman, better watch your mouth” Sammy said in a smug tone. “Oh please, next thing you know he’ll be making bubbling sounds to wash his mouth out,” Henry said as a flow up with Sammy.  
Norman huffed at this and walked ahead of the group, Henry and Sammy exchanged looks at each other and then ran after him.   
  
Norman was in the middle of library circle in front of a tape recording and was waiting for Henry and Sammy to catch up, once he felt their presence he played the tape.  
  
 _"They told me I was perfect for the role. Absolutely perfect. Now Joey's going around saying things behind closed doors. I can always tell.  
  
Now he wants to meet again tomorrow, says he has an "opportunity" for me. I'll hear him out. But if that smooth talker thinks he can double cross an angel and get away with it, well, oh he's got another thing coming.   
  
Alice, ooh she doesn't like liars."_  
  
The tape ended with a click and everyone knew what that “opportunity” was. Henry could not believe what Joey did to Susie, men he could understand but a poor woman that had nothing to do with what was going on, had been promised to be a star voice to millions and to have her dreams crushed because of one talk she wasn’t there for.   
Henry could feel a rumble in his throat and his lungs enlarge with air making his chest puff up. Henry placed his hand next to the tape and he felt like wanted to break the recorder in half with his bare hands, but he knew Susie didn’t deserve it. So he just gripped onto the table and let his claws do the rest.  
  
“Henry… you okay?” Sammy asked watching the co-founder of the studio grip into the table.  
Henry pulled back quickly, his claws pulling off the table like matches, leaving five massive claw marks right through the table to the other end, the massive hacks and splinters of wood clattered a song as they hit the floor. Henry breathed heavily through his teeth revealing massive fangs, trying not to let the bubbles of a growl in his voice come out.  
  
Henry quickly composed himself and turned around to face his old co-workers and gave a tooth-filled smile. “Yeah! I’m fine, let’s just see if there’s a way out” Henry said walking out of the centre of the library.   
  
Henry found a door to go through but he didn’t know how to open it, Sammy and Norman joined him and looked up at the door saying “PRIVET” along a sign.   
Sammy leaned against the shelf next to him and pushed in a book with his hip and a light turned on above the sign. Henry blinked and looked to where Sammy was and he realized the book that stuck out was pushed in. “So that’s how it works,” Henry said and then started looking around the shelves to see if any other books where jutting out. He found the next one then Norman found the third.  
  
But suddenly the room changed looking like a soon to be burning film real, Henry suddenly had dread and fear throwing his head off, he looked to Sammy and Norman but he saw something probably more horrifying than what was going on.  
Sammy looked like what Henry last remembered him being before he left, his blond hair, white shirt, brown overalls, black and white tap dancing shoes. But he was covered in ink, his right eye glowing gold, ink spewing from his mouth, mixing with his hair and staining his shirt.   
But he looked horrified like death was staring him right in the face.  
  
Norman wasn’t too different, his face even with the same look of fear. His black and once crazy curly hair flattened because of a massive blob of ink. His brown and white skin hidden under ink. and his white shirt, brown pants, and black boots ruined by ink.  
After that sudden scare, all three men stood still out of shock, but Henry immediately had something quizzing at his mind again, Sammy and Norman looked so much taller than what Henry is now in that odd flash. He then had an idea to test his height.  
  
He ran into the middle room again and found a quill pen, and started measuring himself with it. To Henry's surprise, he was around four foot, he was five last time he checked. That also meant Norman had shrunk.   
With the projection on his head Norman was really dam tall but now he was probably just an inch taller than Henry if he didn't add the horns, Sammy on the other hand still has to lean down to see either of them face to face, now they were all near some-what the same height: Sammy being the tallest, Henry being second and Norman being last.  
  
Henry tossed the pen to the side but as he did it made a 'yeet!' sound and landed on the desk where he picked it up, Sammy and Norman started giggling at the sound effect that played when Henry threw the pen, they were wondering if he could do more stuff like have his swears being censored.  
  
Sammy quickly ducked behind Henry and stomped on his tail but instead of screaming, a massive fog horn sound came from his mouth that shook the room and only got louder and deeper the longer he screamed.   
Sammy and Norman hunched down a little and covered their ears, but once Sammy stepped off Henry’s tail he stopped screaming. Henry lifted his tail into his hands then looked down and behind him at Sammy with confusion and anger, said man was holding his hands over his non-existent ears.   
When Sammy looked up he saw that Henry was bearing his teeth at him. Henry let go of his tail and it flicked Sammy in the face with it a little he then went off to find the other books to push in.   
Henry pushed in the last few books and the door opened.  
  
The men walked through and were greeted to a drop that would be their death if they dare set foot of the planks of wood that made their path. Henry led the group again and walked head first into the face of eeriness, with every creak of wood brought a new wave of fear, once they reached a solid floor they could then all breathe easy.   
“Okay where to now?” Norman asked looking at Henry, “I think we just go across here” Sammy said pointing out the zip line mechanic for a lift. Norman came over to give it a quick look down and spotted something out of place, “There’s a gear missing” Norman said pointing to were said gear should be.  
  
“Do either of you two know what the heck this thing is?” Henry said looking at an odd box machine, “can’t say I’ve seen that kind of thing before” Norman said looking over the lever to see Henry, “same here” Sammy said walking away from the other two men and being more interested in a hallway that had a few safes in its walls.  
  
Sammy let the other two men ponder at their curiosity for those machines while he wanted to wander a little, he admitted to himself that he had a habit of whenever he was bored he would go out and wonder but this was a different situation.   
Sammy walked down the hall to a massive pipe that had a valve to the right and a lever was right next to him, he pushed down the lever out of curiosity and the massive pipe in front of him lifted up into the sealing and in the bottom half of the pipe was bubbling and steaming ink.   
  
“Yuck…” Sammy said looking down the pipe. He could see something at the bottom and his mind was nagging him to go down there, but Henry put him on a “no normal ink diet" so he couldn’t touch the ink, but then he had an idea, if he could turn this ink into holy-ink then he could swim down there and grab it.  
Sammy saw a can of bacon soup and ate it, then rolled the lid up into a pointed look and used it as an ink quill. He remembered how to draw the pentagram Henry used to make the holy-ink and he drew it around the pipe.  
It went from being thick, jelly ink to smooth and water like and if anything, very transparent.  
  
Once the ink changed, Sammy dived in feet first into the liquid and felt around for what he was looking for, to his surprise they were audio logs. He grabbed them and was just about to look up to swim out but the water level splashed him in the face, he realized that he must have been taking in the ink while he was down there, and he must have been taking in a lot of the ink the pipe was nearly empty.  
But something suddenly yanked on Sammy’s back because he could feel the pain of being pulled on, that’s when he also realized he was dangling just off the bottom of the pipe and that he was somehow squished onto the walls. He turned his head to see that massive white and brown feathers were holding him in place, in the middle of the pipe and that they were also making him stuck.   
  
“Oh come the (wrestling bell) on!” Sammy yelled but oddly enough his swear was censored. “Grr… Henry! Norman!” Sammy yelled squirming and flailing to get out of the pipe, but that only made him shimmy down and it made him feel great pain as he felt like someone just ripped out a bunch of hair on his back but he couldn’t pin out where exactly. So as a show of his pain he yelled at the top of his lungs.  
“ _(Massive foghorn)_!!!”   
  
This did very much so then get the attention of Henry and Norman as they had started walking down the hall when Sammy yelled their names but then turned into a sprint when the sound of a massive foghorn rang through the pocket of rock under the studio.  
“Sammy, you okay?” Norman asked looking around the room when they entered from the hall, only to have his question answered for him when he looked down the massive pipe Sammy was currently stuck in.  
Norman looked down the pipe and Sammy looked right back up, not a word was said till Henry came in looking at Norman then following his gaze to see Sammy being squished in between two massive feather-pillow-like-things.  
“Uh… Sammy?” Henry asked looking down at the pipe cut eyed creature down the pipe in front of him and Norman. “Yeah…” Sammy said in a bit of a sad tone, it almost sounded like he was pleading. “what happened?” Henry asked, “Can I tell you after you get me out of here?” Sammy asked his voice being filled with more pain as he was slowly being dropped into the pipe. “Oh! Umm… okay,” Henry said leaning over the edge of the pipe to try and grab Sammy but even if he reached out his own arm he wouldn’t be able to grab Henry’s hand.  
  
“You’re too far down,” Henry said practically flexing his claws to try and reach the stuck man now turned cartoon.  
Norman though was watching until his attention was changed to Henry’s wagging tail as he tried to reach Sammy, that’s when he got an idea. “Hey Henry, do you think you can hold yourself up by your tail?” Norman asked seemingly out of the blue. “What?” Henry asked standing back up straight, “Can you hold yourself up by your tail like a monkey?” Norman asked again.  
“Umm… I don’t know” Henry said looking back to see his tail swaying gently behind him, “try it,” Norman said making room so Henry could try to grab Sammy, “please…” Sammy said in a bit of a whimper.  
  
Henry hooked his tails barbs onto the edge of the pipe and leaned forward, gently lowering himself. Sammy lifted his arm up and Henry grabbed him, pulling them up by his tail.  
Once Sammy was out he ran out the room before Henry or Norman could talk to him and walked onto the cliff of dirt and then spread out what was on his back, to his and the others shock as they left the hallway, they were freaking massive wings having brown tinting on the tips of his feathers. They had to be at least a few meters long each.  
  
“Ow… jeez, that hurt” Sammy said checking over the new massive limbs attached to his back. Norman and Henry were in awe as they saw how different their friend was, he looked like some kind of angel just minus the halo.   
“Sammy, you okay?” Henry asked walking over to the old music director, “Could be better” Sammy admitted stretching and popping his back, “but I think I should watch these if they get caught on something, they feel really sensitive.”   
  
At this Norman came over to pat his friend’s new appendages, as he did, he could suddenly see the stress leave Sammy’s face. “Ha, look at you turning into mush,” Norman said stroking Sammy’s feathers.   
Sammy only let out a slurred sentence, “sstud up” as he looked like he could be on the verge of purring.

* * *

 

 

link to what Sammy now looks like - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Sammy-Lawrence-743540006)


	5. Hallway horror

Norman was running his hands through Sammy’s wings, his massive feathers made it feel like he was holding onto a cloud. And Sammy didn’t mind, it felt like someone was giving him a back massage.  
Henry didn’t dare touch Sammy’s wings because of his claws he didn’t want to cut his friend and he already knew those new limbs were sensitive.  
  
“Okay you two let's go,” Henry said braking Norman and Sammy apart.  
Sammy shook his wings, kicking up dust and dirt as rhythmic gusts of wind echoed around the cave. As a one last shimmy, Sammy flicked the end of his wings out and a few massive splotches of ink flew off his wings like water balloons, one landing in the odd book press looking machine. The impact shifted the machine and made the crank on its left turn when the ink that landed in the machine disappeared a cup came out from the bottom.  
  
“That thing made an item out of ink?” Norman questioned walking over from where he was to pick up the cup; he grabbed its handle and examined it, “Looks like you could achily use this,” he said turning it around in his hands.  
Henry came up to Norman for a quick glance at the cup, then he turned to the ink glops that Sammy shock off his wings, grabbing a whole lot of it in his hands, he brought it back over to the machine and dumped it in its scoop. He turned the dial on the right side of the machine and he saw the image change to a gear, Henry smiled a massive grin that could rival his cartoons and he turned the crank on the machine.  
  
A massive gear was made but it rolled as it formed from the ink. And it was nearing the edge.  
“NO!” Henry yelled as he suddenly sprinted after the runaway gear.  
He whipped out his tail and hooked it onto a piece of wood that extended from the cliff ground they were standing on: or so he thought.  
Henry’s feet landed on the other side of the floor and he caught the gear as it was in mid-fall. “Phew…” Henry sighed as he held onto the gear and pulled himself up.  
“Uh… Henry?” Norman said staring at the demon cartoon; Henry stopped pulling himself up and looked back behind him to see Norman.   
“Yeah?” Henry looked back but was then immediately filled with dread as he saw that his tail was in the air and he was still half upside down. Henry thought he was having another adrenalin slow motion episode and closed his eye’s waiting for a possible pain that would mean his death. But none came.  
  
He opened his eyes to see that he was just standing, with his feet on the opposite side of the wood still holding onto the gear. He was just stuck there as if he were a spider.  
  
Henry pulled himself fully up, by just using his legs, and he placed the gear were it belonged.   
He looked back at Norman and Sammy who both had their mouths open; gaping.  
  
“How the ( _clown horn_ ) did you do that?” Sammy asked looking at Henry in utter confusion, “I don’t know…” Henry answered but then gazed down to what Sammy was holding in his arms “are those audio logs?” Henry asked pointing at Sammy’s chest.   
“Huh?” Sammy said looking down to where Henry was pointing, “oh yeah, sorry got a little side-tracked from me being this, and what just happened to you,” Sammy said gently placing the tapes on the floor and sitting down in front of them. Henry and Norman joined him and they sat in a circle.  
  
Sammy pressed play on an audio tape that had the name of Aurora Silver on it.  
_“This is only my second week working at Joey Drew studios and so far I don’t feel comfortable working here, one of my jobs is to serve coffee to some of the music writers here and a few animators, and they either try to flirt with me or they flat out just grab my butt. Most of the men here are like twice my age, but… there is a nice guy here that I like, I don’t know his name and we only see each other walking down hallways.  
  
He does try to talk to me, but normally I’m running late to the recording studio, or I’m rushing for time to fix a broken pipe.  
It’s hard being a young woman holding up three jobs at one studio, but I’m just glad that some people here have common sense, otherwise, I might have admittedly been raped by now.  
  
Oh, shoot! I’ve gotta get this to them now!  
Me and my rambling.” _  
  
The tape finished with its same soft click.  
The men looked up at each other in unison after what they just heard; “Why would an audio log like this be in that pipe?” Norman asked looking back down the hall were the safes where “beats me. Maybe the next one will tell us.” Sammy said looking at the tape that was closest to Norman, giving the say that he would like Norman to press play on that one.   
He did so and they waited for it to play. The name on this one was Zachary Turner.  
  
_“So what am I meant ta do ‘ere? Just say wot I think about my job so far? …okay then, (clears throat).  
  
It’s been three months since I’ve graduated from college and came ‘ere to America to work for Mr. Drew, and I’ve got to say this is like wot I expected with everyone working their ass’s off, but wot is with this… “Ink machine”?  
  
It makes everyone mad and pissy every day, not to mention for now I’m the one that has’ta clean everything up on the animation floor. I swear those rooms have more pipes weaving through their wall’s than dead fly’s on a spider’s web, so like normal, they break quicker, and dealing with a mad, pissed off animator is never on my to-do list.  
  
I just ‘ope I get switched to the job I came ‘ere for soon.   
  
There you go Sheila, just please make sure you don’t trip agai- …   
  
WOT THE FUCK IS THAT!?!”_  
  
An Australian accent had played through the small speakers and Henry lit up at the sound of this young kid. “Okay I’ve possibly have to give Joey props for hiring an Aussie, tell you what those guys are the best kind of people in your life you can make friends with,” Henry said smiling at the tape. But Norman had a different reaction.  
“Zac…” Norman said with his voice shaking, “I knew that kid, I was his mentor for a month before Joey turned me into a projectionist. And your right Henry he was a one of a kind kid,” Norman said smiling at the tape.  
Henry wasted no time in playing the one that was in front of him saying, Jerimoth Sauer.  
  
_“I’ve been vorking here for half a year now und zhe grate war has caused so much hassle for me und my family because I’m German._  
 _Just last month I vas leaning against a vall zhat turned down to zhe corridor to zhe music department, und I vas speaking in my native language over vhat I had zhat day und zhen I vas smacked in zhe head by a metal dusting pan from one of zhe cleaners._  
  
_My head vas against the vall to, so it felt like I vas squished into bricks for a split second._  
  
_Und let’s just zay I vas not very happy vith zhose idioten, but zhis nice guy around my age came und defended me, he iz ezher Australian or British but I’m horrible at culture, so vhat vould, I know._  
  
_Und right after he helped me I vas just about to zay “thank you” when Mr. Lawrence called on him to his office, zaid his zir name vas “Turner”.”_  
  
“Zac could throw a punch? Who knew?” Norman said in shock at the tape, “Oh, now I remember Zachary and yeah one thing for sure I would not want to get in the crossfire with whoever he would be fighting; that kid sent the guy to a hospital because he broke his arm, shattered his collar bone, and dislocated his leg! And let’s just say he can make a good mess of blood on the floor, I should know I watched the fight.” Sammy said grinning at the tape.  
  
“Okay, now I want to see what else this thing does,” Henry said jumping back up to the machine.  
He grabbed more ink and dumped it in the scoop; he changed the dial on the right of the machine and a small image of a radio came up. Henry cranked the lever and a radio came out immediately playing a song that Henry soon found his foot and tail taping a dancing to.   
“Oh! I remember this song, can’t be erased, it’s called” Norman said swaying his hips to the beat. “You outdid yourself with this one, Sammy,” Henry said looking at said man.   
  
Sammy rubbed under his nose in a show of how smug he was. “Well, what can I say? I’m just as grand as these wings I’m wearing,” Sammy said in a voice that showed off how much pride he has for that song. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Norman said grabbing the last bit of ink and dumping it in the scoop of the machine.  
Norman turned the dial on the right of the machine and then cranked the lever on the left; he didn’t bother seeing what the picture was.   
And to everyone’s surprise, a bone came out.   
“So that’s how Boris got a human bone,” Norman said looking down at the item, “odd…” Sammy said picking up the item but then immediately discarded it.  
  
Once the men have had their fun with the machine, they moved on.  
Henry pulled down the lever for the basket to come to them, then they hopped in one by one: Sammy in first, Henry in second and Norman in last. The ride was going smoothly until it reached the middle when it made a sudden jerk, and the men were shaken and tossed around violently for a second, scared for what was to happen next, but they made it to the end.   
All the men carefully came out with shaky knees after that jumpscare.   
 _‘Note to self, learn how to fly with these wings’_ Sammy thought as he walked ahead of the group, pushing a door open that led down a hallway.  
  
  
But the three men turned cartoons, where stopped again by a horrific image of their sight looking like a soon to be burning video tape real, as inky hands reaching out from the walls desperately trying to reach out and touch them.  
Sammy looked back behind him, only to see that Henry looked like what he last remembered his human form looking like, before he went to war, except he was wearing a war uniform and he had blood all over it that most of it Sammy could guess probably wasn’t his own, and he had a sort of buzz cut for a hairstyle. But the biggest thing that Sammy spotted about Henry in this look, was that he was crying his eyes out, and he had a look of paralysis on him but most of all, a look of pure combustion or a mental breakdown. A face that read he just saw some very scary, mortifying! Shit.  
  
After the third jumpscare in a row, Sammy could just see at the end of the hall… …the ink machine… being lowered into the studio.   
Sammy ran after it only to come to a complete stop at the end of the hallway nearly falling down a deep drop that goes to god knows where.  
  
_"I see you there, my little errand boys.”_  
“Alice’s” voice came over a few speakers,   
 _“Your angel is always watching. What is it that keeps you men going? Is it the thrill of the hunt? The thirst for your freedom? Or perhaps... You're all just looking for a little, friendly, wolf...”_ “Alice” giggled.   
 _“Better hurry errand boys. “Boris” is having trouble staying in one piece."_  
  
The three men could hear someone crying in the background from those speakers, but it was very much distorted gruff voice, then moving to a young mans.   
“Well come on let’s get going,” Henry said and started to sprint up the spiral stairway, “Hold your horses,” Norman said grabbing Henry’s shoulder getting his attention, “I say we take a quicker route,” Norman said with a smile, then looking to his left, at the chains that hulled the ink machine down.  
  
Norman backtracked down the hall they came through, then did a running jump onto a chain that held the ink machine up, and it hoisted him up the whole way to the top. He then swung the chain so he could land at the top.  
“Ohhhhhh! I pick up what you’re putting down!” Henry yelled, then ran down the hall and repeated what Norman did.  
  
But suddenly, while Henry was sprinting down the hall, a nagging feeling pulsed through his mind, an odd combination of adrenalin and curiosity.  
He wanted to jump and land on his hands, then run like some sort of cheetah.  
In a blind run of adrenalin, time was slowing down. And he jumped.   
At the last stretch of hallway, he jumped, and landed on his hands then went into a pounce, catching the chain and spinning around it like a fireman, then wrapping his legs and tail around it like possum or lizard.  
  
Sammy saw what Henry just did but had a loss for words, what would you even appropriately say to a situation like that?  
Sammy pushed that thought really far back into his head, then repeated what his old co-workers did.  
He ran down the hall but as he was running, his wings decided to gain a mind of their own, and he was slowly lifted up as he exited the hall, but he caught a chain before he _(technically)_ flew into a wall.  
  
Norman jumped off the chain with a little swing, stumbling with his landing.  
Henry swung around the chain like he was a circus performer, and stuck the landing with his arms out.  
Sammy fell off the chain and onto the floor less than gracefully, with his wings covering him like a tangled up bed sheet.  
  
Norman collected and dusted himself off, then walked over to Sammy and helped him up.  
Henry was already walking ahead of them and went into the next room.   
He looked around and saw that the place was rather furnished, with massive sofas and a record player and oddly enough there was a miracle station.  
  
“I just want to go home…”   
A quiet, mellow voice said. Henry looked back at the other two men who had walked through the doorway, “Did either of you two just say something?” Henry asked, “No. why?” Norman said looking at Henry.  
“What is that?!” Sammy suddenly yelled, pointing up at the balcony above them.  
An ink skeleton figure was looking back at them, with ink dripping from its jaw and glowing gold eyes.  
It looked to its right then walked out of sight.  
  
“Was that a?...” Norman started then was joined by Sammy, “stage five?” the two said in unison. “Oh my god, I wish Boris was here to see that. We could come back here later.” Norman said still looking up at the balcony.  
The way Sammy and Norman are talking makes you think they just spotted a rare animal in the wild, but as far as Henry knew these were real people just turned into ink amalgamations. It was odd, or maybe it was just something that he didn’t understand, like an inside joke.  
  
“Well…” Henry started, “you did say that where there’s one, a few aren’t far behind. Maybe we will see more if we keep going.” Henry said walking forward to open a door.  
But as if he jinxed himself, a room full of stage five searchers was right in front of him looking as him and the others behind him with sorrow filled eyes, their body expressions showed that they would be shy or body conscious, as they swayed back and forth as if they were constantly off balance or were impatient.   
  
“Hey, Norman…?” Sammy asked with a croaky, fear filled voice, “Yeah?” Norman said with an equal amount of fear, “you said that "where there’s one a room full is not far behind"." Sammy said looking back and forth between Norman and Henry who were looking at him. “Well… I think you hit the nail on the coffin…”


	6. Workshop wonders

Henry pressed on and walked around the ink skeletons, they watched him as he walked through. He walked to the other side of the room and grabbed the light that was in the vent.  
“You guys coming?” Henry asked watching Norman and Sammy from the other end of the room, and once again Henry shocked the other men with the ability to just roll with the situation. The old Henry they knew would still be pondering at this madness.  
  
“O-oh yeah, coming…” Sammy said weaving through the crowd.   
But he didn’t have to try hard since they moved away from him as his wings took up a decent amount of the room.  
Norman followed not far behind Sammy, and when they got to the other end of the room he walked around next to Henry.  
“Okay let’s go,” Henry said coming onto his elbows and holding out the flashlight “wait, I can’t fit in there,” Sammy said pointing to the vent.  
  
But one of the stage five searchers came up to Sammy and held onto his arm, trying to pull him in a certain direction. “Hey!” Sammy raised his voice and tried to shake off the searcher.   
“Thisss… way…”    
A female voice came through the ink skeletons mouth, as they continued to try and pull Sammy to come with them. “Umm… okay…” he said slowly following the searcher, “I guess I’ll see you guys later,” Sammy said letting the ink creature lead the way.  
  
Henry and Norman crawled into the vent and started moving. When they reached the end of the vent and had an exit, Henry was just about to push the bars open when “Bendy” jumped into view.  
Henry jumped and swiped his claws at him as a fight instinct, but they only scratched the bars. “Bendy” smiled and giggled a little, then tapped a little rhythm with his fingers against the bars. Taunting Henry.  
Henry did a death stair at “Bendy” until he walked out of sight.  
“We are not going that way,” Henry said turning right.  
Norman though was stuck in place, Henry whipped his tail and it made a crack sound that echoed around the vent system, it snapped Norman out of his shock and he speed crawled to keep up with Henry.   
  
After a few turns and dead ends, Henry and Norman finally got out of the vent.  
“Henry! Norman!”   
Said men looked up to see Sammy on the top of a flight of stairs calling down to them.  
“Sammy?” Norman said jogging up the stair to reach him, Henry just walked up at his own pace.  
  
“How did you get here before us?” Norman asked as Henry just reached the top. “The lost one that grabbed me before you guys left, brought me here through a door,” Sammy said pointing to a door behind a pin board. “Wait then why didn’t we just come with you? And, what’s a lost one?” Norman asked putting his hands on his hips, “I don’t know why, and that’s what a stage five is called.” Sammy replied.  
  
Henry, though, was already in the next room looking around in awe, as the other two kept on talking.  
His eyes had literal stars in them as he looked at drawings and schematics all around the room, and all of it was for a theme park.  
“Oh, Caitlynn…” Henry said in the softest and mellow voice he could muster, “I hope your smile is shining right now…” Henry said with tears building in his eyes.   
He pulled down a lever on the other side of the table and then walked back over, then he whipped his tail again to get Sammy and Norman’s attention, they both stopped talking then looked over at Henry and noticed he was standing in front of an audio log waiting for them to pay attention, once he had their attention he played the tape that said Bertrum Piedmont.  
  
 _"For forty years, I've built attractions that stagger the imagination! Colossal wonders such as the world has never seen! I have earned my legacy with sweat.  
  
But right in front of everyone... high level investors, Wall Street tycoons, the ever-tactless Joey Drew introduces me, the great Bertrum Piedmont, as Bertie! Like I was his child.   
  
You may be paying me, Mister Drew! But you don't own me! I'll build you a park bigger than anything YOU could ever possibly conceive! But before you go taking any bows, Mister Drew, know that this grand achievement will belong to me... and to me alone."_   
  
The tape ended with the same soft, satisfying, heavy click and the three men looked at each other, lifting their heads up in unison.   
“You know that’s one of my pet hates. I can’t stand men that are full of themselves, and just like hearing their own voice.” Henry said crossing his arms at the tape, “I agree, he sounds full of himself” Sammy said glaring at the tape. “Not the sharpest tool in the shed,” Norman said already walking away from the tape, and coming down the stairs, to a door Henry opened up before.  
  
“Wow…” Norman said looking into the room, “What is it?” Henry asked walking up behind him with Sammy in tow.  
“It’s so dark,” Norman squinted into the darkness and could only see railings that the light from the other room illuminated. He walked forward up to the railing and tried to look further into the dark. “I think we could have used your projector head for this,” Sammy said coming next to Norman “For once I agree…” Norman said in the form of a regretful voice.   
It wasn’t until Henry walked through the door that the lights turned on and a massive sign saying “Bendy hell” lit up and the room was suddenly a massive workshop.  
  
“Well I now don’t think the lighting will be a problem,” Henry said from the doorway.  
They walked down and started looking around, seeing shelves upon shelves littered with parts of park rides and other stray tools here and there, and a few double sliding doors scattered around the far corners of the workshop. A few things did spook them, however.   
They saw a few miracle stations, which got them a little concerned about if “Bendy” could get them from where they were.  
They pressed on though, walking to the end of the workshop to find a massive haunted house ride.  
“This haunted house I think would lead us deeper into the studio, let’s get going,” Henry said walking around to a control switch panel, he looked down and followed one of the wires back through the workshop, and stopped at a pair of supposed moving double doors that were next to the stairs they came down from.  
Henry was looking around on how to open it when he heard a “thunk” from one of the game booths.   
Apparently, Norman and Sammy had decided to play a game.  
  
“What are you guys doing?” Henry asked peaking around the corner from one of the games, “Norman challenged me to a throwing match,” was Sammy’s quick response “look, I already knocked down a group” he said pointing at the stack of bottles he knocked down. “Okay, my turn” Norman said taking aim.  
Norman threw the ball and he scattered the bottles, and he also put a crack in the wall behind them. “Oh, jeez…” Norman said surprised at his own strength, “Guess working as a projectionist paid off,” he said smiling back at Sammy.   
Sammy huffed and crossed his arms, then he had an idea. “Hey Henry has an eight pack, I think he’s way stronger than you,” he said tossing Henry a ball. “I… guess… I’ll… give it… a go?” Henry said feeling like he was suddenly court in the middle of a gang war.  
He took aim and the bottles exploded in different directions, the ball, however, made a massive hole in the wall.   
  
Henry stood in shock, as did Norman and Sammy. “Well! Next one!” Henry shouted.  
He took a big sidestep to the other game and looked at the targets in front of him, then at the BB gun.  
“Any of you guys want to have a go?” Henry asked looking at the others. “Now this I know I’m good at,” Sammy said walking over and grabbing the gun. The game started and Sammy got three shots in before he started doing horribly, eventually, the game ended with the sound of him losing.  
“But apparently not good enough,” Norman said walking over next to Henry. “Okay, then why don’t you have a go?” Sammy said in an annoyed tone, “Okay, I will.” Norman said grabbing the gun off Sammy.  
Unfortunately, Norman didn’t do any better. “Oh come on!” he yelled, and then slammed the gun back on the counter, and walked off to lean against a pile of sandbags.  
Henry grinned and picked up the gun and won the game, the second the sound for winning rang the door next to the game opened.  
  
Henry walked in and saw that there were three bendy costumes with hollow cut smiles, and a lever just to the right of them, he pulled it down and the rusty screech and deep click made its presence known.   
The three men turned cartoons made their way out only to stop in front of the games as an audio log was their now and it had Wally’s name on it.  
“Okay let’s hear what Wally has to say now,” Henry said walking up to the tape to press play.  
  
 _"These guys down in the warehouse get to play games all day while I'm stuck cleaning up after 'em._  
They kept locking themselves out of their own back room. So I says, look guys, I says, you're smart, right? Here's an idea!  
Why not rig these games up to knock open the door if ya win? It'll be fun for you guys, and it saves me the trip down here every day.   
  
They went for it like a dog to pot roast. I tell ya! If these guys don't start realizing who the real genius is, I'm outta here."   
  
The tape ended with everyone looking at it in shock.   
“Wally…?-” Sammy said halfly before Norman tried to pick up, “complaining, like-” Norman didn’t have words either.   
“That’s not like Wally. At all,” Sammy said looking at the tape like it had eyes or something.  
Henry was honestly surprised too, but he just left that to ponder for another time. He walked back to the haunted house and pushed down the lever there, and then oddly enough the other doors around the workshop opened.


	7. Norman Evans Polk

 

* * *

 Henry had suggested that they split up and pick a door each to go through. Norman picked the door that was to the right of the haunted house that said “MAINTENANCE”.  
The first thing he saw before even stepping into the door frame, were words written in ink saying “choo, choo”.  
Norman had no idea what that meant, but then again, all of the words written on the walls of this studio were insane gibberish.   
  
Norman came into a hallway and to his right were work benches and one had a toy train on it, and above it was more writing saying the same fraise, but it was written on top of a poster saying “Bendy in train trouble”.  
  
It did just click to Norman that he was walking into an area that had something to do with trains, but he pushed the notice to the side and kept moving forward.  
He came up to the main turn area where the floor meets the stairs and looked around, there was a miracle station to his right, and very oddly enough there were plants growing here.   
He walked down the stairs only to see a bouncing light walk in front of him, he knew all too well what he was walking into. The turf of another projectionist.  
  
He watched as the massive ink creature walked around behind a train and he made his move to follow it. He saw that this projectionist had a far bigger ink heart collection than what he ever hoped to achieve, but he was okay with that. If it were him at a later state then he would have wanted those hearts. He pushed those thoughts back and kept following the ink monster.   
He walked past a lift holding a bunch of sandbags and a tape recording that he would have listened to but he didn’t think he would have had time when the projectionist circled back around. Eventually, he walked around the room to a leaver that said “LIFT CONTROL”. He pulled it down and had the reaction of being spotted by the other projectionist.  
  
“AHHHH!!!” Norman screamed and began to leg it to the lift. He just got to see it rise as he ran up the stairs. He ran to the other side of the balcony he had been under. And pulled a lever that was there, he was in a blind panic as he did this so he didn’t know why he did it.  
But it did something…   
The lights turned off for a second and Norman frantically looked around to see if the other projectionist was around. To his relief and thanks, he walked back down to the audio log he’d seen and pressed play.  
  
 _"I believe there's something special in all of us. With true inner strength, you can conquer even your biggest challenges. You just have to believe in yourself and remain honest, motivated, and above all, who you really are.  
  
Ok, let's stop it right there. I can only do so many takes of this trash a day. And tell the guys in writing I want more use of the word dreaming in every message. Keep railing on that, get it? Dreaming! Dreaming! Dreaming! People just eat up that kind of slop. Hmm what? It's still on? Well, turn it off, damn it!"_  
  
To Norman’s scare of his life to the worst day he’s ever going to have, he just heard Joey freaking Drew’s voice come through the small speakers of the tape.  
He pushed the tape off the crate it was sitting on, only except for a splash of ink, he was expecting he got a sound of plastic on plastic.   
Norman looked back to where the tape fell and he saw another tape. He lifted it up and played the tape.  
  
 _“(Sobbing) it’s cold… and it’s dark… I’m so scared._  
I’ve been down ‘ere for god knows how long.  
I just found this tape recorder, and I thought it might be an okay idea ta let some feelings out.  
Or maybe even my last words.  
If anyone I know ‘ears this… just know I’m not okay. I’ve been psyching myself out, with that monster of a cartoon demon walking around…  
I’m being very paranoid.  
  
Silvia…  
If by any miracle you here this.  
Just know I wish I could have been a better big brother, and I know I could have never replaced are parents but…  
  
(Crash in the distance)  
  
I love you…”  
  
Zachary Turner’s voice played through the small speakers and Norman felt himself cave in as the young man’s voice played, a mass of guilt and sorrow plagued his heart and mind.   
Norman grabbed both the tapes and started to walk back to the stairway he was just there when he heard a screech from behind him, he sprinted for the miracle station and slammed the door shut hopeing to god that he would be safe.  
  
But the projectionist reached out its hand, and was just a few centimetres away from opening the door, when Norman’s vision turned into a soon to be burning film real again, and he saw “Bendy” jump into his view and punched the other projectionist in the head. It came back with a swing itself and in knocked “Bendy” back a little, the two started having a brawl the next swing harder than the last.   
  
But then “Bendy” suddenly lifted the projectionist up by its head, and it started kicking and flailing, its screeches turned into screams of a young man, a voice of which Norman knew very well.  
  
Everything went into slow motion for Norman, he was brought into a mix of slow emotions, of anger, of dread, of adrenalin and a feeling he hasn’t felt in a very, very long time. The feeling of wanting to protect someone.  
He was in a blind blur of just doing what he thought was right, a feeling of like someone else was in control, but he knew what he was doing, and he knew it was him.  
  
He slammed open the door and punched “Bendy” in the gut, the lanky demon dropped the other projectionist then received another heavy punch to the ribs, “Bendy” tried to punch back but Norman dodged it.   
Norman started doing a series of punches and dodging, as he started getting into a rhythm he threw a few kicks in for good measure.   
When “Bendy” started roaring at Norman, he roared back. He could feel the chill of air coming onto his teeth as he let his vocal cords shake with the rage he’s been building inside himself.   
“Bendy” had backed away from Norman a little but when he tried to close the gap, snakes that had formed out of Norman’s hair would strike him.  
Eventually, Norman was rivalling “Bendy’s” roar with a hissing one of his own, his tongue had turned fork like of a snake.   
His fingers had burst through his gloves and had turned into claws, which he was using now as his weapon. He clawed at “Bendy” slicing his bow tie off and just dealing a bunch of damage in general.  
  
Eventually “Bendy” retreated, fading through a wall not far from the door.   
Norman felt himself shift back to what he was before, his hair calmed down and gently laid back against his neck, his teeth turned back, his tongue turned back and his fingers changed back.   
He straightened himself up and looked back at the other projectionist, still on the floor in shock.  
  
Norman walked over and offered his hand to help it up. It accepted and was pulled up.  
“Zac… kid… is that… you?” Norman asked, but the projectionist in front of him only cocked its head to the side. “Oh, right you can’t hear me,” Norman said in realization. He was deaf to until Henry gave him a bit of holy-ink. And since he couldn’t find an ink well anywhere he just had to stick with a method that all projectionists knew or rather they knew two, they would either flash their lights at each other or they would write stuff in their palms.   
Since Norman didn’t have his light anymore he had to use the other method.  
  
He grabbed the projectionists hand and started drawing letters in its palm. “Are you Zachary Turner?”Norman asked, the projectionist nodded and Norman lit up with a smile, “It’s me! Norman Polk”Norman writ in Zac’s palm.  
The projectionist responded by making a whining sound and ink started coming down his lends, he then bear-hugged Norman and didn’t let go for a while.  
“It’s okay kid, it's okay…” Norman said in a soothing voice and pated Zac’s back.  
  
Zac stood up and looked at Norman with a look of hope and happiness in his lends. He then grabbed Norman’s hand and looked like he was about to write something until he noticed that Norman’s gloves were torn apart.   
Norman was confused himself and he thought to pull off his gloves, he did and to his surprise, his hands were not like the rest of his body, they were white as snow.  
Norman was actually really happy about this, he was biracial. His father was black and his mother was white, unlike most kids who are born to parents like that, they get a little tan like shade in their skin, not Norman though, he had patches of black and white skin all over his body, he could never tell if he was white with black or black with white, but he did have more white on him than black that was proven by doctors, but that still didn’t really do anything for him at school or work.   
  
He pulled off his other glove and checked his hand, the exact same.   
He pulled back on his gloves only to see that they were somehow brand new looking. Norman was shocked by this but rolled with it anyway. “Man, I think Henry is rubbing off on me,” Norman said only to remember that Zac couldn’t hear him.  
Norman writ in Zac’s hand again, “come this way” Norman held Zac’s hand and walked him out the room and into the main room that was the workshop.  
  
Once they were in front of the haunted house, Zac lifted Norman’s hand to write in it “thank you so much for saving me Norman, I was very sure I was a goner for a second there” Zac wrote in Norman’s palm. “No problem kid, just stick by me and I’ll help you through this hell of a studio” Norman writ back “Promise?” Zac the asked, “promise.” Norman responded with.

 

link to what Norman looked like protecting Zac and what Zac looks like - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/I-ll-protect-ya-kid-747833041)


	8. Samuel Josh Lawrence

 

Sammy had gone to the far end of the workshop, behind a bunch of storage items and shelves. To a door that said “ATTRACTION STORAGE”.   
He walked through and turned a corner to come across a stable corps of a butcher gang member, the spider charter if he’s not mistaken.  
But he pressed on and walked into a room with an amount of items belonging to a theme park around the walls. Chairs, roller-coaster seats, crates, rubbish and scrap that never got put into action.   
But the main gargantuan look of the room was blurred out and then into focus of the merry-go-round like ride in the centre of the room.  
Sammy saw another audio log and went up to press play, but the second he did, he felt very uneasy.  
 _"The biggest park ever built, a centerfold of attractions. Each one, more grand than the one before it. It makes my eyes come to tears at the thought. But then... oh Mister Drew. For all your talk of dreams, you are the true architect behind so many nightmares. I built this park. It was to be a masterpiece! My masterpiece! And now you think you can just throw me out? Trample me to the dust and forget me? No! This is my park! My glory! You may think I've gone... But I'm still here!"  
_  
The ride in the centre of the room came to life, with its lights clicking on, and it started spinning.   
Sammy backed away but when he reached the corner away from the tape a face appeared in the ride its self.  
Now Sammy remembered this Piedmont guy, he really was in for it if he didn’t do something soon.  
  
The ride slammed its arms down and broke the workbench that the tape was on and it revealed an axe.  
Wasting no time Sammy grabbed the axe and started running. He ran to the other side of the room and waited for an opening where he could attack its arms.  
One came, as the ride slammed its arms down and couldn’t lift them back up, he jumped at the chance and ran to the gears that held its arm up.  
He managed to hack two away and was about to jump over to the other side when the ride lifted up its arms.   
  
“AHHHHH!” Sammy yelled as he was thrown into the air.  
His wings then gained a mind of their own again and they started flapping. “Ahg!” Sammy yelled again as he was stuck in the air, but then one of the rides arms came up and it smacked him out of the air.  
He made a splat against the wall, as his feathers fell gently everywhere and he landed on his head.  
“Ouch…” Sammy groaned as he fixed himself up.  
  
The ride kept on spinning, but so was Sammy’s head.  
He could feel his wings twitching to try and get him in the air, but he was too dizzy to make anything out. When he finally got his vision back he saw a cart coming his way and he was hit again, but this time he held onto the arm and copped off the gears as he held onto in for dear life.  
The arm exploded off, and the face in the middle of the ride roared from what Sammy was guessing, was out of pain.  
  
He jumped off the arm just before it exploded and he was air born again, but this time he started flying in a circle as the other three arms from the ride chased him, he eventually court up with the other arm that was in front of him, and he chopped off what remained of the gears.  
The ride roared again and it started spinning faster. It smacked Sammy again and made him hit the wall again with a splat.  
  
Sammy got up again and waited for the ride to slam down its arms again. To his thanks, he was close enough to one, and that made it easier for him. He chopped off the gears on that arm and there was one to go.  
But the ride was freaking out it would not slam down its arm and that left Sammy with only one option. He had to fly and chase it.  
  
Sammy ran around the room, jumped then got air born, as he glided up to start flapping his wings.  
He had no clue how he was aboul to just know how to fly but he just let it slide and he would ponder it later.  _‘Wow… I think Henry is rubbing off on me,’_  Sammy thought as he continued to chase the last arm.   
  
But in a bit of an adrenalin rush, he looked down at the rides face and it was drowning in fear, it was trying to get away from Sammy, it was just as scared as he once was. Living in fear, always pondering how he would die or how he was going to live for the next day, every hour being another hour you knew your death was coming soon. But this rids life was different to his own, it was a machine it could possibly live after Sammy chopped off its arms.  
  
Sammy finally chopped off the last arm and the ride screamed.  
It closed the doors that revealed its face and came to a stop as its lights died. The door on the other side of the room opened and revealed a leaver in a small room.  
Sammy walked over to it and pulled down. He then turned back to the ride, or he should really say Bertrum.  
  
He walked up to the ride and stepped up to its face. He opened the doors that hid its face and looked into the ride.  
“Hey…” Sammy said looking at the face of the ride.  
It lazily looked up at Sammy then slumped back as if preparing for the worst.  
“I’m not gonna hurt you if that’s what you’re scared of,” Sammy said crossing his arms.  
The ride looked up again and looked at Sammy in confusion and interest.  
“Hang on a second” Sammy said, then grabbed three barrels full of ink, from the walls of the room. Then drew the pentagram for holy-ink on the floor, and then stacked the barrels on top of each other, then waited for the ink inside to change. Once it did he picked up one barrel and brought it over to Bertrum.  
  
“Okay now how do you consume ink?” Sammy asked looking back up at the face in the ride.  
Bertrum looked down to the lights on the bottom of the ride he was trapped in, Sammy didn’t understand for a second, but then got the idea, but normally double consumers had two ways of eating ink, double consumers were things like stage four searchers, they could soak in ink through their feet if they were standing in it, or they could do it the normal way by using their mouths. Bertrum had a mouth but he just hoped that wasn’t his only method of getting ink.  
“Do you have another method?” Sammy asked.  
But the stumps left from the rides arms raised a little then fell back down, giving Sammy the sign of a shrug.  
“Well let’s hope you’re a double consumer,” Sammy motioned Bertrum to open his mouth and he did, Sammy pored the holy-ink down Bertrum’s throat and proceeded with the next barrel. After that was done, Bertrum started leaking ink from under his lights, then his head went limp.  
  
Sammy watched the Bendy statue to see if a searcher would come out from in front of it, but none came.  
Sammy looked back at the ride, then noticed something in the corner of his eye. A figure in the shape of a stage one searcher was floating next to Sammy, he looked down and saw that it had white glowing eyes and it was transparent, a ghost of sorts?  
Sammy saw it look around then it started to panic.  _‘Is that Bertrum?’_  Sammy thought.  
He gently grabbed its hand then guided it to the Bendy statue, it was pulled in when it reached a close enough range, then a few seconds later a searcher came out.  
But something was different.  
  
It had very bright yellow eyes that looked like the safety colour yellow, and it had a gold dot under each of its eyes, but very oddly it was way smaller than any other searcher Sammy had seen.   
“Huh?...” is slurred out in an odd grown.   
Sammy looked bewildered, to say the least. “Umm… Bertrum Piedmont?” Sammy asked looking down at the odd searcher, “yes…” it said while nodding its head. “Whoa…” was Sammy’s short response.  
  
After a long while of awkward silence, Sammy broke the mould.  
“Okay… maybe we should get out of here before something bad finds us,” Sammy said and started walking to the exit, Bertrum was having a very hard time trying to keep up with Sammy though.  
When Sammy felt like Bertrum had fallen behind a little he would stop then wait for Bertrum to catch up, eventually, he quickly got fed up with waiting for him so he did something that would be a bit of a pinch to both of their egos.  
He lifted Bertrum up and placed him on the arm of his wing, “Hurr!” Bertrum gargled a little as a possible way of saying- “Hey!”.  
“It’s no picnic for me either, so shush. If we don’t say a word about it then it won’t be half as bad,” Sammy said walking out the room with the inky, slug, monster on his wing. “And plus if we get seen by something bad then we would haft to run, and I doubt you would be very fast in out running you know who,” Sammy said walking down and out the hall.  
  
“I don’t know if you know me though, I’m Sammy Lawrence, I was head of the music department here.”  
Bertrum gave a 50-50 shimmy of his hand, indicating he probably heard of Sammy before.  
“And please don’t pull on my feathers,” Sammy said walking out to the main centre of the workshop and out to in front of the haunted house. Only to see Norman already there with another projectionist behind him.  
“Err… Norman what’s with the other projectionist?” Sammy asked carefully watching the towering monster.  
  
Bertrum shrunk into Sammy’s feathers as he looked in horror of the ink monster with a projection for a head.   
Zac had felt their presence before Sammy called out to Norman but he waited until they were to close for his liking.  _“(_ **S̴̢̀͜t̶͇̪͚͂̂ă̵̼̆̈́̎t̸̗̪͓͉̂̽̃͋i̵̲͂͑͂͝c̷͇̈́̿͜͜ ̴͕̓͋̕f̴̦̪̬̯̓̇̿i̸͇̚l̷͚͈̐̈͠l̴̫̙̇̾e̴̡̤̝̿d̴̼͕̰̈́͊͜ ̴̩͔̣̇h̶̭̜́͗̔i̸̻̲̜̼͒̄ŝ̵͓̣̰̤̕s̴͕̹!̷̤̒͊͗** ).”   
Norman spun around and saw that Sammy was in front of him with an odd looking searcher covering itself in Sammy’s wing feathers.  
“It’s okay kid…” Norman said putting a hand on Zac’s speaker, “and to ask you an even better question, what’s with the searcher?” Norman asked pointing to said searcher. Bertrum only shrunk deeper into Sammy’s wing.  
  
“One: how is that a better question? And two: to answer yours, this believe it or not is that Piedmont guy we heard from before” Sammy responded with, “Well one: okay I guess you have a point because I have a powerful ink monster behind me, and two: this is achily Zachary Turner, the one we heard from before.” Norman replied.  
“No way!” Sammy said suddenly taking interest in the ink monster behind Norman. “Hey Zac good to see you again,” Sammy said smiling up at the projectionist. Only to have him cock his head to the side.  
  
“He’s deaf, you have to write on his palm so he can understand you,” Norman said watching Sammy, “oh…” Sammy said as he held out his hand showing he wants to talk to Zac.  
Zac showed open his palm and Sammy started to write in his hand. “Hey, Zac it’s me, Sammy Lawrence” Sammy writ on Zac’s palm only to have the projectionist squeak and then raise his hand for a high five. “Yeah! You remember me,” Sammy said high-fiving the young monster made of ink.

 

* * *

  

link to how Sammy holds the searchers - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Team-Sammy-750014561)


	9. Harrison Dane Stein

 

Henry took the last door that was the closest to the haunted house saying “RESEARCH AND DESIGN”.   
Henry walked into the room only to see that the room was filled to the brim with searchers of all stages and many, many butcher gang members.  
“Oh… shot…” Henry wanted to swear, but he was afraid if he did he would alert the whole cavern of monsters.   
He looked down to the bottom of the cavern and saw a few hallways that had his curiosity nagging him to go down.  
  
This place would be just a spiral of stairs if it wasn’t for all these monsters, and if you were at the bottom and looked up it would put the same strain on your neck if you looked up to a skyscraper.   
The walls had small makeshift dens all along them that Henry could guess were meant to be homes, like all of they’s monsters had homes, this whole community of monsters was like how you see New York from a bird’s eye view, just people moving around like a colony of ants.   
The whole floor He was on was vacant so he was free to move around. But further down was a different story.   
Henry looked back behind himself to see writing written in ink saying- “HOME”. Was this their safe houses or something? A whole ecosystem in the one massive room?  
  
Henry started walking down the stairs to his left, but only got a few steps down before he was seen by a stage one searcher.   
Said searcher was about to walk up to him until Henry took a stance to fight, then it backed away and started speed crawling in the other direction.   
Henry dropped his stance and just watched in confusion as the searcher practically ran away, but Henry kept going. There was still estimably about fifty floors to go.   
  
Floor after floor the same thing would happen, he would face something like a butcher gang member or a searcher and get into a fighting stance with a scowl on his face then they would back off. It’s like he had an aura once he was ready to bare his teeth in a fight, Henry knew he had that habit.  
It had started in the first war, and it’s continued up to this day.    
  
Henry kept going.   
Eventually, everything would just walk away from him, like he was the school bully walking through the halls and they would move out the way of him.   
But finally he got to the bottom and walked through the hallway to his right, he turned the corner and there was a crying stage five searcher with a deep female voice in a fenced off area that Henry could guess was a cage of some sort.   
He turned the next corner and there was a work station with parts and painting items everywhere, and there was an audio log, and a lever. He pushed down the lever first then moved onto the tape.  
Henry walked up to it and pressed play. It read, Lacie Benton.  
  
_"The only thing that works around here is my ulcer. Half these people don't know a wrench from a dang steamroller. Buncha morons is what they are. Spend their day in the warehouse arguin' over who's supposed to be doin' what or playing them silly games. Still, I'm not complainin'. I get most of my time to myself. Suits me just fine. Only thing that bothers me is that mechanical demon in the corner. Bertrum's been working on it for a month now. Says it will walk someday and maybe dance. All it does now is give me the creeps. I swear, when my back's turned, that thing's movin'."_  
  
The tape finished with its same soft click.  
Henry realized something though, that voice belonged to the searcher that was around the corner from where he was.   
Henry walked back around to the searcher and knocked on the wood to get its attention, it looked up with sad glowing eyes and waited patiently for Henry to speak.  
“Are you Lacie Benton?” Henry asked the searcher nodded. “Well…” Henry didn’t know where to go from that question but he tried to continue. “…I achily want to help you,” Henry knew that sounded cliché but what is he really meant to say in a situation like this.  
  
“Okay…” the searcher said standing up. “But, how are you going to get me out of here? And what are you going to help me with?” Lacie asked, crossing her arms.  
Henry didn’t know why she couldn’t just walk through the fence or why she was suddenly being rude, but he did have an idea that could get her out anyway. He grabbed the fence and ripped it off from the poles that were holding it up. He threw it to the side and looked to see the expression on Lacie’s face. She was surprised, to say the least.  
  
“Wow,” she said in one word.  
“Okay, you’re out. Let’s go,” Henry said as he began to walk out from the hall. “Wait!” she yelled. Henry stopped. “What?” He asked turning back to her.  
“You need to flip the next lever across from here,” she said pointing in the direction the other hall was. “Wait, why?” Henry asked.   
“That one open’s the door in the middle floor you probably came through, it’s a safety function that was put in here just in case if the ink demon ever comes,” Lacie responded and walked up to Henry to walk next to him. “This way,” she said giving Henry a look that said to follow her, he did so and walked out the hall with her.  
  
When they exited the hall, Henry felt a little off. He looked around and saw that the ink monsters were looking down at him from the railing as if he were a football player in a stadium. When Lacie gasped though, then Henry had a possible idea of why they were staring at him.   
What was in front of him was a massive, big, giant! Stage one searcher with a grey fedora hat on. And when Henry meant big, he meant BIG. It was five times the size of him.  
  
“WHAT THE LIVING- ( _rubber duck squeak_ ) –IS THAT!?!?!” Henry yelled.   
“That’s Shawn…” Lacie said, “He probably thinks you’re a threat here. He’s always jumping to conclusions.” “Well can you ask him to stop?” Henry asked panicking a little of the approaching searcher. “I can try.” She said walking up to the giant searcher.  
“Shawn!” Lacie yelled, getting Shawn’s attention. But he picked her up and threw her up to one of the higher floors before she could get a word in next. She landed okay but was very confused on what just happened, she saw a stage one searcher to her left that had a construction hat on, and a stage three to her right, that’s when she realized what Shawn had done. “Hey!” she yelled back down at the overgrown searcher, but he was already back to walking up to Henry.  
  
Said toon was backed up against the wall next to a metal barrel that was on fire.   
Shawn grabbed Henry and threw him across the room. Henry slammed into the wall face first with enough force that it berried him a little, he used his hands to push himself out from the wall, like some sort of cartoon gag. He shook his head and then realized he was stuck on the wall like a spider. Possibly the same ability he found out about when he caught the gear mid fall back at the basket were Sammy turned into an angel thing.  
  
Henry started climbing up the wall like a gecko and was just out of Shawn’s reach. When he was reminded of his tail. “AHHH!!!” Henry screamed as the giant pulled on his tail, while he was clinging onto the wall with his claws.   
He let go using one hand and then swiped at the searchers, it let go of his tail and hissed at the pain. Henry started crawling up the wall and got to the first bottom level of railing. He flipped over and exposed his chest outward, he then jumped off the wall and landed on the other side of the arena and extended his claws at the giant, crouching a little and having his tail sway behind him.  
  
The searcher hissed at Henry. All of Henry’s war instincts came back to him, and he did one better than a messily hiss. He made a deep cave echo, cutting, roar that made the whole room of stairs shake and everyone doubled over to hold their ears.   
This also got the attention of Sammy and Norman who were just waiting for Henry to come out when they changed their minds and came running to his aid.  
  
Shawn started to charge at Henry but he rolled out the way and let the searcher smack into the wall, he then jumped on the searchers back and started hacking away at it. When the searcher started spinning to throw Henry off, he just dug his claws into its back deeper, and when it started to back up into a wall, Henry planted his feet on the wall and lifted the searcher off the floor and threw him to the other side of the room. That’s when Henry realized he had a sort of horror world physics to him, how he could just stand on a wall and throw things a million times his size would definitely sound like horror movie material if you wrote it on paper.  
  
Henry repeated this proses without a scratch come to him. When he finally did it a fifth time, he jumped off the wall with such force that it left a practical meteorite crate, and landed in the middle of the room his feet stomping the ground bending and cracking under him. He stepped forward and started walking slowly up to the searcher who was on its stomach in defeat and owning a look of terror and fear. Henry kept walking. Growling, with red cat-like pupils that were glowing in his pie-cut eyes that were the width of paper.   
  
Norman and Sammy had opened the door and ran in with Zac and Bertrum next to either of them, they looked over the railing and saw that Henry was about to kill a stage one searcher that was five times his size.   
“Henry!” Sammy yelled and jumped off from the railing and glided down to Henry. Bertrum had grabbed onto Sammy’s back and then shifted back to his wing when they landed. “What’s going on here?” Sammy asked walking up to the toon demon.  
  
Henry steadied his breathing to a point where it wasn’t a growl and looked back to Sammy. He then felt a wave of tiredness suddenly slap him, he slumped his shoulders then exhaled deeply. “Just a… fight…” Henry said smiling at his old friend. “I can see that, but, what is that? And why were you growling? And! What’s wrong with your eyes?” Sammy asked putting his hands on his hips. “One: this is a massive searcher who goes by the name of Shawn. Two: I don’t know how I was growling, but I very sure it was from adrenalin. Three: I don’t know what you mean by my eyes glowing.” Henry responded as he saw Norman walk down to him and Sammy with a projectionist following behind him.   
  
“And now my questions, why does Norman have a projectionist following him? And why is there an odd looking searcher on your wing?” Henry asked.  
“This is actually Zac. From the tape we heard when Sammy turned into an angel,” Norman said walking up beside Sammy. “And this is that park builder, Bertrum we heard from,” Sammy said. “Oh,” Henry said as he studied each of the new ink monsters with his friends.   
  
He walked up to Bertrum and started speaking, “I just want to say thanks for helping my little sisters dream become a reality,” He said to Bertrum who only smiled slimly. “Wait a sec,” Norman said suddenly cutting in. “Your little sister, Linda?” He asked. “Oh yeah I remember Linda, how is she?” Sammy suddenly asked.   
Henry was taken back a little by the questions for a second, but he answered them full heartily. “No not Linda, and…” Henry paused, suddenly feeling warm tears coming down his face.   
  
“My really… …younger… sister… …Caitlynn…”   
he said   
  
“she… was… the… one… who… originally… thought… of… Bendy…, I just… filled… a… dream… of… hers…   
…   
_…when she passed…_ ”   
  
the last three words were more painful to say than drinking acid, for Henry. Lowering his head and letting his tears flow like a fossett water.   
“Caitlynn… died… of…  _the Spanish flu_ … at six… years… …old…” Henry finished.  
  
Norman and Sammy both then hugged him in a tight bear hug, they both knew his pain. “Funny thing for m-me… Henry…” Norman started. “M-my f-father was sh-shot through the h-head by a police m-men when you were gone,” Norman said having tears of his own flow freely.  
“My f-father… …died of c-c-cancer when you left to…” Sammy said.  
“My… d-d-d-dad…” Henry studdered “…died… in… the… f-first war. …Second year in…” Henry said hugging the other men back.  
  
  
After the three men finished their crying-fest they were then given the attention of a stage five searcher that had walked down and up to them, and they were not alone, with a stage one that had a miner’s hat on, and a stage three standing high next to the stage five, and finally a stage two with a hat on as well.  
“Oh, Lacie! Sorry I got… …you know,” Henry said to the stage five. “It’s okay…” she said. “But I think you three should get re-acquainted with this guy,” she said pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the stage three.   
“Hey guys…” the stage three said smiling at them, and they recognized that voice anywhere. “GRANT!!!” the trio yelled in unison.   
  
“That’s it!” Henry suddenly yelled and ran up the wall to get to something off the higher levels, in this stair spiral place. He brought down three barrels of ink and then drew the pentagram for holy-ink, then stacked the barrels on top of each other and waited for the ink to change. Once it did he called them over. “Hey Lacie, Grant, have some of this and you will look something like us in no time,” Henry said offering the two the holy-ink, “whoa! Thanks, Henry,” Grant said gunning for the holy-ink, Lacie did the same. “Jack! Aurora! You having any?” Grant called back to the searchers with hats on while dipping his arms into the ink. Both searchers nodded and rushed over to join Grant.  
  
“Wait… Aurora Silver?” Norman asked, “And, Jack Fain?” Sammy asked.   
Both searchers looked up from the position of dipping their arms into the ink and nodded. “Jack… oh my god…” Sammy said and walked up to the searcher, but he noticed something odd happening to his friend. Two gold dots were showing up under his eyes, and his eyes themselves were turning normal, with the amazing sky blue Sammy remembered him having instead of the gold glow that searchers normally had, the same went for Aurora, Grant and Lacie. Except Aurora had hot pink eyes and had just one dot under each eye, Grant had maroon and had three gold dots under his eyes, and Lacie had bright grey with five under her eyes.  
  
But while Sammy was more focused on Jack, Lacie called out to a stage four searcher that was where the massive stage one was just a few minutes ago. “Hey! Shawn!” she yelled over to the searcher, “you want in on this?” Lacie asked and waited for the stage four to come over, he must have changed while everyone else wasn’t watching.   
“Yeah, okay… I’ll join” a male Irish accent came through the searcher's lips as he walked up to the barrels.  
  
“Shawn Flynn?” Sammy asked, shocked to hear another one of his old friend’s voices, “been a while hasn’t it Lawrence?” Shawn said shaking Sammy’s hand “yeah,… been ages” Sammy said smiling at the old toy maker.   
“Okay, you. You’re over here” Norman said, walking Zac over to the last ink barrel.   
He dipped Zac’s hand into the ink and waited for a bit. “Kid… can you hear me?” Norman asked. Zac turned his head to face Norman, and he received a slow nod that eventually speeded up to a frantic nod. “Finally, I don’t have to keep writing in your hand,” Norman said happily while smiling up at Zac.   
  
“Okay, now try talking,” Norman said.  
Zac looked down at his speaker in his chest and tried to say something, but it came through as static. “Try again,” Norman said. With a bit more effort Zac finally said something.  _“H̶̝̓̎o̶̲͎͠w̸̧̤̃.̴̨͎͐.̵̛̗͝.̴̗̱̕ ̴͇̙͒d̸̬̓o̵͔̊͜ ̶̟͖͒͆I̶̟͑ ̷̲̭̌͊s̶͓̈́o̶̻͍̔̑ǘ̴͎n̷̪̈́̈́d̵̡̾?̴͓̯͋̉”_  Zac said looking at Norman “A bit more practice and holy-ink then you will be talking like an auctioneer,” Norman said smiling at the boy.   
  
“Zac?” a feminine voice spoke up. Zac looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the searcher with a miners hat was looking at him, “Do you remember me?” it asked. Zac remembered that voice anywhere,  _“A̶̯̅͝u̴̻͘͜r̵͍̻̎͋o̵͔̤͆ř̴̳̭͛a̷̖͊…̴̹̎”_  Zac said looking at the pink-eyed searcher, then walked over to her.   
Norman left Zac with Aurora and looked over at Sammy. He was in deep conversation with Jack and Shawn so he left them to it, he looked over at Henry who was talking to Lacie and Grant and decided to talk to them.   
  
  
They were there for a few more minutes until “Alice’s” voice came through the speakers of her humming.   
“Oh, shot! We gotta go, now!” Henry yelled, then ran up the walls again to get to the exit. Lacie ran up the stairs the normal way and chased after Henry.   
Sammy placed Jack on his other wing, and grabbed Shawn with his hands, then flew off for the exit.  
Norman grabbed Grant and gave him a piggy back ride up the stairs, Zac carried Aurora in his arms and chased after Norman to catch up. 

 

* * *

 [Team Sammy](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Team-Norman-750941226)

 [Team Norman](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Team-Norman-750941226)


	10. Jamison Croft Drew

The crew of are now more than just a five-man band, came bursting through the door, from research and design.   
Henry sprinted over to the power board for the haunted house and pulled the finale lever to the very far right. Suddenly the ride came to life and started laughing in a deep pre-recorded sound.  
Henry was about to walk through when Norman suddenly shouted.   
“Oh, shot! Wait, hang on a sec!” Norman frantically spun around like a dog chasing its tail, and somehow, out of nowhere. He grabbed out two audio logs. “I think we should listen to these first,” Norman said sitting down and pressing play on one, the voice of Joey Drew came through and played. Leaving everyone in complete shock, and staring down at the tape.  
  
Bertrum, Jack and Aurora hissed at the tape. Zac made a horrid sound of god knows what, but he made it sound like it was his mechanical parts grinding against each other. Shawn and Lacie had ink bubbles suddenly wisp off them and pop on their backs like tar. Sammy had his feathers fluff up and fan out, making him look twice as big. Norman had already heard this so he did nothing but frown at the tape in front of him.  
Henry though.  
He had a reaction no one would have ever expected of him, even his life old friends were sure he was entirely the same person.  
  
He grabbed the tape and he smashed it over his horns. It shattered on impact.  
“Jamison Croft Drew, when I get my hands on you!” Henry didn’t care if it rhymed, he was just glad that no one would be able to play that tape again.  
  
But all of the hate that was in the air suddenly shifted to one of comedy. And everyone started laughing.   
“Jamison?-” Bertrum asked holding on from Sammy’s wing. “-Is that Joey’s real name?” Sammy asked following up from Bertrum “You mean you didn’t know?” Henry asked looking surprised at Sammy, “Well yeah, he never told us anything about his name.” Sammy said still with a smile on his face.  
“Who gave him a nickname like that?” Norman asked, “Oh, I did,” Henry said kicking off the pieces of metal, from the bottom of his shoes. “But that was after he gave me my nickname,” he said looking at the circled crowd around him. “Wait a sec, Henry is not your name?” Shawn asked looking puzzled at the man, “no. My real name is Harrison,” Henry said.   
  
“This is nice and all but shouldn’t we be going to get Boris back?” Norman said pointing at the haunted house. “Yeah, let’s get a move on,” Sammy said as he began walking up to the rides doors. “Wait a sec, we can’t let everyone go,” Henry said speed running in front of Sammy. “Why?” Sammy asked stopping “Because I know a fight atmosphere when I feel it, and we can’t lose these guys.” Henry said gesturing to the searchers on Sammy’s wings and to the projectionist next to Norman. “Oh…” Sammy said looking back between Jack and Bertrum.  
  
Sammy walked over to a miracle station not too far from the haunted house and placed Bertrum and Jack in it. “Can you guys stay here?” Sammy asked as sat them on the seat, they both nodded and Sammy was just about to close the door when Zac stopped him. He was holding Aurora with one arm and holding the door open with the other.   
 _“C̵̗̪̽̾ḁ̸̐̓n̷̥̿͗ ̸̳͝y̸̖̏͐o̵̘ű̶̩͙͊ ̶̣͋͘s̵̗͕̋t̴̛̫a̶̡̾ȳ̶̤̕ ̸̫̅i̷̎͜n̵͚̕͠ ̴̥̙̋̊t̸͈̬̎h̴͚̊͝e̴̺͒r̴͙̅ė̸̼̺ ̸̰͊ṯ̴͓̊̿o̵̲̓̚ǫ̷͊̌,̴̘̘́ ̵̺̏Å̸͙̽ǔ̶̞r̷̯͝ȍ̶̰r̶̹̓a̷̡̗̔?̶̮͇̍̏”_ Zac asked, placing Aurora underneath the seat of the station, she nodded and slinked under the seat as if it were a shelter.  
  
“Sorry kid,” Norman said from behind Zac, “you’re not coming either,” he said patting Zac on the shoulder. Zac sighed in static then ducked in the miracle station, he was taller than it so it was odd as he had his back flat against the wall of the miracle station.   
“Does that mean I’m in to?” Lacie asked looking at Henry as if he was her boss, Henry looked at her direction and that gave her the say of ‘yes go in’. She walked over and manoeuvred herself to sit on what’s left of the seat.  
  
“Shawn can you please-…” before Sammy could finish, Shawn was walking up to the miracle station and then slinked in next to Aurora.   
Norman shut the door and walked back to the porch of the haunted house to re-join Henry and Sammy. “Well back to this again,” Norman said gesturing to how they were a group of three again. “Let’s, see what horrors await for this "fight" then,” Sammy said walking next to Henry’s right, Norman stepped next to his left. And they walked in.  
  
  
Henry stepped from the porch of the house and walked into the ride. He stepped down a ledge and walked over to the carts that were off the rail and lifted two back on the track. “How did you do that?” Norman asked.   
Henry looked back at the other men, “I lifted a stage one searcher twice my size off the floor and practically threw it around like a rag doll, do you really think I couldn’t lift a metal and plastic cart?” Henry asked dusting off his hands. Norman and Sammy looked at each other then back at Henry and didn’t say a thing as they sat in the carts that Henry flipped back on the tracks.  
  
The carts started moving and they slowly started making their way to where ever they were going. Henry’s gut feeling of a fight coming grew even stronger.   
They slowly moved through fake, cheap looking gravestones as little ghosts came out from behind them. They really looked kind of cute in Henry’s opinion.   
  
They could hear “Alice” humming over the speakers, as they made their slow travel through the tunnel.  
But she then stopped as they entered a ball looking area, complete with a massive chandelier in the centre of the ceiling.  
They slowly made their way to the other doors and were about to enter the darkness when a pair of oversized gloves grabbed Henry’s cart.  
  
“Boris?!?” Henry yelled, “Oh no what has she done to you?” Henry grew really worried for the bulking cartoon wolf in front of him.  
But it quickly vanished as he felt his cart being lifted off the tracks. Boris threw him across the room and he landed in the organ with a cartoony crash with horrible organ notes playing and wood flying everywhere.  
“Henry!” Sammy and Norman yelled in unison before they were both smacked off the tracks.  
  
Sammy fumbled with his wings and tried to become air born. He only kicked up a lot of dust, but it did blow the monster cartoon back a little.   
Sammy realized he wasn’t going anywhere so he tried a different approach, he ran at the ink wolf and used his wing as a shield, and he smacked the wolf and sent it to the other side of the room with a ‘thud’.   
  
The wolf came back to its senses and shifted its attention to Norman.  
Norman picked up on this and let down his hair letting it contort and shift into snakes, his eyes shifted into their monster look and he pulled off his gloves revealing his massive white claws.   
Norman hissed and started to back away as a show of a warning.  
  
Henry could only hear his inky heart pounding in his head. He had a wood peace through his chest from the organ, he could only see the blurred image of the spike through his chest as ink dripped down it like a spear or blood streaming down your arm. Sammy and Norman noticed the lack of Henry fighting Boris with them, they looked to where he fell after the monster threw him.  
“Guys…?” Henry said reaching out a clawed hand.   
Norman and Sammy looked at Henry in utter shock, as the colour drained from faces. Literally.   
  
Henry’s body started to lose figure as he started to bubble and writher like a butcher gang member. Was this how Henry was going to die? He couldn’t go just by a simple implement, he survived worse than this.  
He had lived through, being poisoned, practically bleeding to death, he had even walked through enemy territory with little to no knowledge of how to speak German and walked out without a scratch.  
He could not die here.   
He had been through his own hell of World War 1 and 2, he was not going to let himself go in a place like this, yes, it used to be his home away from home. But if he died, his memories of his father and little sister would die with him.  
  
He went limp and closed his eyes.  
 _‘Is this death?’_  Henry thought.  _‘It feels a lot better than thinking about it...’_


	11. It takes a pack to defeat another wolf

 

Norman and Sammy watched in horror as their lifelong friend disappeared like a butcher gang. His body’s shadow shaped in ink left stained on the broken wood.  
“HENRY!!!” the two toons yelled in unison.   
“YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT YOU HEARTLESS SHE BEAST!!!”   
A young man’s voice could be heard from where this Boris came from. And a second later a toon like what Sammy and Norman were, came running out with an axe in hand.  
“GRRAAA!!” he yelled jumping and then ramming the blade into the monster’s open ribs.  
  
It roared and threw the small toon of itself.  
“AH!” he yelled landing across the floor with a thud, he stood back up and yelled, “Get outta’ here!”  
It then clicked for Sammy and Norman who this guy was. “Wally?!?” they yelled in unison again, “you guys sure are doin' 'dat a lot lately,” Wally said looking at them with a firm grip on the axe he was holding. He then charged at the monster Boris in front them again and swiped at its arm, it roared in pain again and swatted Wally away again, but this time he flew into the air.  
“Hang on!” Sammy yelled, flying up after Wally and catching him, “since when can you fly?” Wally asked, “Since when have you turned into a toon is the better question,” Sammy said flying in one spot.  
  
“Guys a little help!” Norman yelled having his snakes strike the monster Boris in front of him to create some distance between them.  
Sammy landed back on the floor with a thud, and let go of Wally who immediately ran to Norman’s side, Sammy did the same with his wings spread out in a way you would see an animal use to make themselves look bigger.  
  
_(Somewhere in the studio unseeable to anyone alive)  
  
_ Henry felt lighter than usual, he also felt really sad, it was close to the level of when he lost his father. He looked around and saw Norman, Sammy and a newcomer fighting the massive wolf monster.  
Henry tried to reach out and grab Norman’s hand but he faded through him.   
Henry felt a bundle of negative emotions. He could feel horror spiralling in his new figure, doubt, fear, dread. All emotions shaping his air-filled figure like smoke. Henry wasn’t as scared as you might think though, he’s felt worse living in trenches for years at a time.  
  
Henry backed away from Norman and felt himself lower as he rested his body on the ground. He knew he was dead, that was obvious. But how was he meant to come back? Could he come back? He knew he would probably come back as a searcher, but he didn’t know how to come back.  
  
But then something from the corner of the room caught his attention that wasn’t there before. A tall grim reaper was standing next to the double doors that he and the others came through. It wore a black robe and had a dark blue face, with bright red triangles under its eyes if you looked at them right it would look like a sort of three-toed paw print. Its eyes were a glowing magenta with black sclera. And it had skeleton hands with four fingers. It had violet wings on its back, and the same coloured smoke coming out from under its robe.  
Henry slowly floated over and looked up at it, curiosity flowing through his thoughts. He waved at it and the reaper flickered a look of surprise, and then asked- “can you see me?” its voice a wispy male tone with, oddly enough. A German accent.  
  
Henry nodded his head, “vhoa…” the reaper said. “Are you zhat demon zhat just died on zhe organ?” he asked. Henry nodded his head again. “I zhough you vould have come back by now,” said the reaper. Henry only shrugged.  
“Come vith me, I vill take you to a safer place so you can come back.” The reaper said grabbing Henry by the hand and started pulling him to a different Bendy statue, so he could come back in a safer environment.  
“By zhe vay, mine name is Jerimoth,” said the reaper, “Mein name ist Henry,” Henry said in German. He still knew a little from his war days.  
“Du kennst Deutsch?” Jerimoth asked, “Ja, ich habe im ersten und zweiten weltkrieg gedient” Henry said. “Zhat’s actually kind of cool,” said Jerimoth.   
  
_(Time skip)_  
  
After A long float Henry was back at the room with Bertrum’s audio log, and once he came close enough to the statue he was pulled in, and then was brought into a tube of spinning ink he had to fight his way through. There was a light at the end and once he reached it he was brought back in his same figure of a demon.   
  
He looked behind himself and tried to see if Jerimoth was there but he didn’t see anyone.  
“Jerimoth bist du hier?” Henry asked in German. He waited a few seconds for a response but none came.   
Henry sighed and then heard a high pitched screech coming from the haunted house.   
He knew that sound, it was the sound of a projectionist in pain. Zac.  
  
Was he and the others in trouble? Henry was about to find out. He leapt like a cat and started sprinting on all fours to the little miracle station where the others were. He skidded on the dirt as he felt the small rocks role under his shoes.  
He threw the door open and saw that they were all gone, but there was no ink around the station telling him that they hadn't been killed. He heard another high pitched screech and then another right after.  
_‘Two projectionists?’_  Henry thought. And he started to cat sprint again down the halls of the haunted house.  
  
Henry was terrified for what he was to see once he got back to that room.  
He had lost so much, too quick in his early youth, he couldn’t lose the last people that trusted him. And innocent kids were helping to fight that brute, Zac and Aurora. Henry knew what kind of fear they would be experiencing, he was once in that situation himself coming into World War 1. He would have been in much more fear if his dad hadn’t come with him, but that choice led to his death.   
Henry still remembers carrying his father’s body bridle style in his arms back to the trenches and carrying his coffin onto the ship so he could have a proper burial back at his home town. Henry never came to the funeral, he knew he was being a coward, but the last time he went to a funeral was his own sisters, he didn’t want that pain in his heart again like what he had experienced as a child.  
He didn’t want that feeling of letting someone down again.  
  
His very younger sister Caitlynn drew Bendy, Boris, and Alice. She was the creator of the trio, and she told Henry that she wanted to see her pictures move like what she saw on the silver screen someday, it was her dream.   
But when she passed away at the age of six she asked Henry to make her pictures move. And that began Henry’s motivation to become an animator, all for his sisters wish.   
Along the line, he meet Joey, and through a long story he asked him if he would like to help him in becoming an animator, Joey said yes, so they started to become the best they could in the animation industry.  
  
But then World War 1 came around and by then they had the studio up and running with a good amount of workers.  
But Henry did something that he can never tell his friends or Joey once he finds him.  
  
He was never drafted into the first war.  
  
He lied.  
To all of his work colleagues, and to his best friend.  
He chose to go to the war out of his own will, he thought he could bring back stories for the cartoon, and that only caused disaster for him.   
His father died, he broke his whole families trust and hearts when he never came for his own father’s funeral, and if he never left in the first place. All of this could have been prevented.   
  
He didn’t have time to worry about that now though, he wasn’t going to sit and watch his old friends die, he’d be dammed if he will relive that mental nightmare.  
  
_{Que awesome and dramatic music}_     
  
_Trapped within the silence inside  
Watching as the days go by outside  
All this replacing, disgracing my face in this hollow tune.  
  
The fall of the idol will tear us limb from limb  
To where wondering was a sin, to where nightmares can begin  
This life did not choose us, it chose to consume us  
To ready for the day we march with dread beneath the sway!_  
  
Henry shifted back to sprinting normally, with bright red, thin, cat pupils in his black, pie cut ones.  
  
_Dark nights are upon us,  
Black magic slays on the chorus  
For the choir's in tune with an angel  
Foresight of the broken chain us_  
  
Henry’s mussels tighten to his skin and start to swell and bulk with power.  
  
_May her demeanour divide us  
Within sorrow and blindness  
We'll follow where the path of freedom can re-join us now_  
  
Henry grows in height, his legs growing longer as he sprints along the rails. His tail throwing itself side to side furiously with his running.  
  
_We bow before a fake, for goodness sake  
Where's the pride when we needed it to carry away?  
This decay, has derailed, now she walks leaving trails of the damned._   
  
Henry smashes through the double doors of the room where the fight was taking place, a 10 foot, black demon.   
His horns had shifted in size and style, the small pair at the very top changed from their thorn look to a hook of kinds, his major and longest pair grew up and elongated even further, his next zigzagged away from his head, and the finale pair were like hooks as well, shifted from the thorn look before to their current.  
Henry’s bow transformed into a look of a more butterfly form, from the usual he had.  
His elastic classy sleeves now owning little ruby starts on the gold part as the bronze buttons now only on the white, the pair on his arms stayed the same in length from his elbow to his wrist, while the ones on his legs dragged down a little now from the middle of his legs to his ankles.  
His feet now three clawed and puncturing the wood under him with no effort.  
His legs and whole body owned more mussel as his arms and legs had swollen with the strength to kill, and a lot more to spare.  
And finally his tail triple in length, and all three barbs in different shape and size.  
  
Henry was blinded by anger and rage as his demons instincts made him see the world in blood, but yet none was spilt. He was about to change that.  
  
_Fall into the hands of sorrow_  
  
Everyone looked to the doors in surprise as the monster version of Henry stood in the doorway.   
  
_Drawn by the darkest bay_  
  
Henry started taking steps towards the monster Boris in time with the music, then attacking him with the same time as the symbols. Slashing and hacking at it with his claws.  
  
_Walk into the pit of silence  
I am the one calling your name_  
  
_I in the name of violence  
Sentence you down to hell  
Live or you will die,  
Just for the sake, fetch me the tools  
So I create this instrument of Cyanide_  
  
The monster Boris smacks Henry way and sends him crashing into the wall with enough force to leave a crater.  
  
_Dark nights have devoured us  
I walk this river of conscience  
For a time where we come to escape here  
This lens has an open vengeance_   
  
Henry gets up on his knees and growls deeply, you could even feel the vibrations through the floor.  
  
_I've laid in here for the longest time  
The deadliest choir chimes for my awakening  
This reckoning will see the light tonight_  
  
The others step in front of Henry and show off their anger to the beast, letting Henry get up and collect himself.  
  
_We bow before a fake, for goodness sake  
Where's the pride when we needed it to carry away?  
This decay, has derailed, now she walks leaving trails of the damned._  
  
The toons and ink creatures give their hit at a time with the drum and symbol, letting Henry take the finale hits.  
  
_Fall into the hands of sorrow  
Drawn by the darkest bay  
Walk into the pit of silence  
I am the one calling your name  
  
I in the name of violence  
Sentence you down to hell  
Live or you will die,  
Just for the sake, fetch me the tools  
So I create this instrument of Cyanide_  
  
From a distance, another angel and Boris hear the fight and start to come running to see what was going on.  
  
_It is time for you to leave, or so it may seem  
(Empower, desire to reignite the flames)  
For there's one more thing you have of mind, the core to my strings  
(Empower, desire to reignite the flames)  
So as you ascend to the heavens now, I'll drag you back down to hell, listen to me!  
(Empower desire to reignite the flames)  
Can't you see your friend is now mine, all mine_  
  
The monster Boris then wacks Henry at the side of the head, his head moved with the punch but he didn’t show any signs of anger until he had his head facing forward again, there was a pause as Henry bent down to stare into the monster's eyes as he walked forward and it walked back now very scared of Henry.  
  
_“ **And when the ashes spread apart  
It is then I'll take out his heart**.”_ Henry said.  
  
_Fall into the hands of sorrow_  
  
Henry shoved his hand into the monsters open chest and grabbed a firm grip on something, the monster stalled as it laxed slightly and looked up and Henry with a terrified look on its face.  
  
_Drawn by the darkest bay_  
  
Henry smiled at the monsters sudden fear and gently squished the organ he was holding, teasing it with pain.  
  
_“Walk into the pit of silence  
I am the one calling your name”_ Henry said ripping out its heart and then crushing it in his palm like an apple.  
  
_“ **I in the name of violence  
Sentence you down to hell  
Live or you will die,  
Just for the sake, fetch me the tools  
So I create this instrument of Cyanide**”_ Henry said again as the wolf monster started to lose form.  
  
_It is time for you to leave, or so it may seem  
_  
The angel and other Boris soon see the fight and watch as a hulking Boris loss’s figure and starts to melt into an ink puddle.  
  
_(Empower, desire to reignite the flames)  
For there's one more thing you have of mind, the core to my strings  
(Empower, desire to reignite the flames)  
So as you ascend to the heavens now, I'll drag you back down to hell, listen to me!  
(Empower desire to reignite the flames)  
Can't you see your friend is now mine, all mine  
_  
The others watch from behind Henry and look at each other in unison, then back at their monster friend.  
  
_Dark nights are upon us._  
  
{End awesome music}  
  
“GRRAAAAA!!!” “Alice” yelled in anger as she charged at Henry with her arms flailing.  
But just as she was about to reach Henry, a sword impaled her from the back through to her chest, and when she dropped to the floor, there was another Alice holding the sword that killed the other.

 

* * *

 

 

Link to the song - [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLcOrCP0P6s)

Link to what Jerimoth looks like - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Jerimoth-Sauer-749085802)

Link to what Wally looks like - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Wally-Franks-743099414)

Link to what Henry looks like - [here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01/art/Monster-Henry-and-Joey-771170396)


	12. Court in her halo, and grasped in his fist

 

Henry suddenly dropped his monstrous form and shrank back to his normal look.  
He collapsed to the floor exhausted. Norman gave him a shoulder up and looked in the direction of the bad “Alice’s” corps on the floor, then glancing at the ink puddle the monster Boris melted into.   
  
Sammy looked at where the monsters died and saw two searcher ghosts just like what he saw Bertrum as floating above them.  
He gently grabbed them by the hands and led them to a Bendy statute once they were close enough they were pulled in.  
A second later two searchers came out. One, with purple eyes. And the other, purple-y pink eyes. Sammy bent down and offered his hand to them with a soft smile, “Sssammmy?” they both slurred as if in confusion, “How do you both know my name?” Sammy asked dropping his hand in sudden confusion, they only came up to him and started crying, wrapping their arms around him. “We have been friends since we were seven,” the one with purple eyes said in a male voice, “You’re the one who told me I was being replaced…” the pink and purple eyed one said with a feminine tone.  
  
“Dumaka!? Susie!?” Sammy said in shock hugging them back. “Wait,” Norman said “Dumaka? The other biracial guy like me? and, Susie Campbell? The gal’ whose voice filled a whole room?” Norman asked. “I can’t think of any others,” Sammy said smiling back. “Hey, Wally can you hold Henry for a sec?” Norman asked, Wally, grabbed the passed out Henry from Norman and watched as he walked up to the searcher with purple eyes.   
  
He zoned out from the other men and looked back behind him at the others, they were looking at Henry scared and he couldn’t blame them. He then looked to the Alice that impaled the other.   
“Thanks for helping us there,” He said looking to the two, “your welcome I guess,” Alice said still holding her sword out.  
The other Boris looked at him then walked up and circled around him giving him a look down.  
He knew what he was doing. Before Wally saw Henry again down here, he was a mute just like any other Boris. But when he found out about holy ink and started taking it for himself he then got a voice, it wasn’t his but it was better than not talking at all.  
And he did know the voice actor for Boris personally, his name was Thomas Connor. He and him had gotten a letter on the same day, saying they were new voice actors for the cast. He was going to be the new voice actor for Bendy himself, and Thomas was going to be the voice actor for Boris.   
They had already recorded a song or two with them in it singing, but the episode they were first going to do real voice acting in never got released because in its production the Ink Demon attacked and made this place its own personal hell.   
  
Wally looked at the other Boris with a straight face, he knew to him he looked like another Boris but he was very sure he was not any of the characters the studio had made. Boris stuck with other Boris since the character is a wolf Wally thinks it’s a pack thing, like normal wolfs.   
“I’m not a Boris if that’s what you’re looking for,” Wally said to the wolf. Its ears dropped in disappointment and it dawned a frown, its attention then shifted to Henry, it looked at him with a sort of scowl, and then looked at the others holding out a pipe.  
  
Wally knew that expression. “They’re with us, they're good,” Wally said. But it only moved around behind them. “Grrrha!” it barked and pushed them all forward as if he was a security guard.   
“Hey! What are you doing?” Norman yelled walking back over to the others. “You’re coming with us,” the other Alice said while gesturing to Sammy to get up.  
Sammy put Dumaka and Susie on his wing and then walked over to Jack and Bertrum and placed them on his other wing, they all sank into his feathers, feeling safe again. Shawn joined Sammy at his side and they watched as the newcomers forced them to go with them.  
  
Grant slinked next to Norman and Zac carried Aurora in his arms while also sticking next to Norman’s side.  
Wally haled Henry over his shoulder and walked in front of everyone with Lacie joining him. From a birds-eye view, they were in a triangle, Wally with Henry at the front, Norman and his team to the left with Boris behind them, and Sammy with his team to the right with Alice behind them.  
“Get walking,” Alice said ordering them to move.  
  
Jerimoth watched them all walk forward, he was about to help the two new searchers, but Sammy beat him to it. He wondered if he could see him.  
He floated in front of him and waited to see if he would respond, like a flinch or gasp. But nothing, not even a glance. He just kept walking with his head up and a straight face, Norman and Wally weren’t that different so he just followed them from the back, behind the Alice and Boris.  
  
 _(Time skip)_  
After a series of turning corners and walking down a few flights of stairs, they all eventually came to the Alice’s and Boris’s safe house.   
They had these cells, three of them to be accurate, all lined in a row against the back wall.   
“You two in there,” Alice said to Wally. He walked in and Lacie followed suit, then everyone heard a slam, they all looked behind and saw that the Boris had closed the door. Once he had everyone’s attention he grabbed a few planks and nailed them to make blocking for Wally so it looked like a real cell, he added a plank at the top flat down so now it looked like a shelf of kinds than a blockade.   
  
He then pointed at Sammy with his metal arm and then pointed at the biggest cell.  
Sammy swallowed a little and did as he gestured, Shawn walked in with him and they watched as Boris did the same thing with the planks as he did with Wally’s cell.   
Alice was about to order Norman and the others in the last one but he was one step ahead of her and walked into it on his own, Zac, Aurora and Grant joined him and waited for Boris to come and seal them in, Once he did he moved over to the workbench and grabbed a screwdriver, and started tightening a screw on his arm. Alice just moved to behind the wall and sat down on her fold out bed.  
  
Wally placed Henry on the stretcher that was in their cell and then sat with his back against the wall hugging his knees. Lacie sat with her back against the planks and crossed her legs.  
Sammy sat on the stretcher in his cell, finally resting his wings, he could feel the others moving around in his feathers and he could see lumps in the mould of his feathers moving like how something would move in tall grass.   
But after a bit, they all stopped and Sammy supposed they found a place to rest. He wondered if his wings were like a hidden world as if he could dip his head in, and everywhere would be covered in his feathers. Shawn sat next to him and rested his head against the wall, Sammy followed and they both just looked up at the ceiling.  
Norman sat on his cells stretcher to and Zac joined him, Zac rested his head on the wall and let Aurora sleep in his lap, Grant sat on the other side of Norman and curled around himself and slept like a cat.  
  
Eventually, everyone fell asleep for the day. For some, they didn’t realize how tired they were until their heads rested on something. Even a few softly cried them self to sleep. But eventually, the room was filled with soft breaths of sleep. 

* * *

 

Link to DeviantArt page- [Here](https://www.deviantart.com/cindercat01)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its short, but as of now I'm going to be doing a little thing of side stories. 
> 
> E.g  
> > What happened in the fight with Brute Boris when Henry wasn't present?  
> > What was Henry like before he came back to the studio?  
> > What happened on the day the ink demon attacked?
> 
> And so much more, so the main story is going to be on hold for a while and when I mean a while, I mean a while.
> 
> this little side story saga will be called - Ink Out  
> And to have a better understanding of what the characters look like please see my Deviant Art page, I also post the story there to.
> 
> That's all for now, Bye!


End file.
